


Meihem Beach Getaway

by Heartscobe



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Drinking, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Getting to know you, Hurt/Comfort, Meihem - Freeform, Stargazing, Talon - Freeform, Vacation, beach, junkmei, learning one another
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-04-21 09:26:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 57,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14281917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heartscobe/pseuds/Heartscobe
Summary: When Overwatch orders the team to take some time off and escape to their private beach house together, Mei must conjure up the strength to step away from her precious research for a bit and relax. Will relaxation even be possible with the two new Junker recruits joining them on the trip? Mei and Junkrat struggle to get to know one another, but between nights under the stars and fun in the sun, they start to become close. Very close.A Meihem story including the cast of Overwatch as they enjoy a beach vacation!





	1. Chapter 1

"WINSTON"

Mei rushed down the sleek halls of Gilbartor up to Winston's office, flyer cluched tightly in her fist. Before she could land a solid knock, the office door slid open. Winston was there to greet her with a polite smile. "Hello Dr. Zhou, what seems to be the problem?"

Mei was practically out of breath as she held the flyer infront of his face. "T-this!"

ATTENTION OVERWATCH AGENTS:  
MANDATORY BEACH VACATION SCHEDULED FOR THIS FOLLOWING WEEK  
7 DAYS OF FUN IN THE SUN  
PLEASE PLAN AND PACK ACCORDINGLY  
DROPSHIP DEPARTING 9AM MONDAY

 

Winston pushed up his glasses, squinting at the flyer struggling to find the source of Mei's anxiety. "A uh...free Vacation?"

"A MANDATORY free vacation! Sir, with all due respect you can't possibly hold this against us. I mean what about my research! I am on to something and I just can't up and leave for-"  
He held his hand up, stopping her mid-sentence.

"Mei, please, you have been working very hard lately! Well..More like always. Almost too much at that! I'm sure you can make time for a little relaxation!"

Her eyes frantically darted from side to side trying to piece together how that would even be possible.

"B-but I just..I...I Really am deep into my work at the moment, I really feel like I am close to a breakthrough! I would feel awful leaving that behind so suddenly for a whole week! I just..."

She found her gaze falling toward her feet, a dark cloud began to creep over her. Overworking was something she always found herself doing; she knew it was not good for her health or well-being, but she did it anyways. People constantly would stop her on her way to her dorm, asking to take a break or hang out with good company for a bit but she always refused no matter how badly she wanted to. She couldn't stop, she had no choice. There was so much to be done...because....

"I just..Have so much lost time I need to make up for.."

Winston frowned, gently setting his hand on her shoulder."Mei.."

Her gaze quickly shifted back up to him.

"...Everyone Is really worried about you...and I think you know too that this is something you need to do, give yourself a little break. We are all hear for you, and whatever research you have will be here when you get back. We can help you too if you feel like you are behind after this vacation, but it would mean a lot to us if you joined. And I know deep down it will end up meaning a lot to you too." He smiled at her genuinely.

He was right. Sleepless nights running on caffeine can really take a toll on your body; and having constant anxiety and guilt hanging over your head can do a lot of damage as well. Perhaps it wont be as bad as she thought, getting out for a bit. Thinking about it more put her anxiety to ease and she felt her shoulders loosening up again. She smiled back at him. Maybe reassurance that it would be OK to take the time off was all she really needed.

"Ok..." She rolled her eyes playfully "You know I can't say no to you, big guy."

"Well I am your boss." he joked. "This will be good!"

He began to walk with her back to her dorm.

"We have a whole house rented out, plenty of space! Private beach! Everyone is invited! It will be a good chance to get to know the newer recruits too!"

Mei halted in her tracks. Newer recruits..He can't mean...

"The...Junkers?" She questioned.

"Uh yes of course! Everyone is invited after all."

She rested her face in her palm; just thinking about all of the trouble those two could cause would ruin the point of the whole trip. There's not much relaxation when it comes to practically babysitting two notorious chaos hungry criminals. She knew Winston brought them on not only to unlock their hidden potential but to also keep them out of Talon's grasp. She constantly had to keep reminding her self that it would be much more harm for them to be against them than with them, but goodness they were just so annoying!

They were wanted all around the world for their countless law breaking schemes and took the opportunity to team up with Overwatch in attempts to "become legit". Mei knew in her heart those two were just taking the offer to get a free home, meals and wipe their criminal records clean; and the thought of them taking advantage of all that Overwatch had to offer made her skin crawl.

"Do you really think that's a good idea, sir? Bringing them along?"

"O-of course!" He stuttered, "They are part of the team."

"But Sir, they could cause a huge commotion! They could ruin your plans! They are just-"

She felt a brush of air on her left ear.

"-A buncha no-good bullies?"

Mei practically flew 3 feet off the ground she was so startled. Hovering over her shoulder, now in a laughing fit , was none other than the lanky Junker himself, Junkrat. The self-proclaimed leader of the two.

It was always hard to get a good look at Junkrat's features due to the fact he was covered in multiple layers of grime and soot 24/7 and he also couldn't stand still long enough to really get a good look at him. He was way beyond average height and was as thin as could be, and clearly wore the appearance of a man who had fought to survive day to day in the radiated filled wasteland of Australia. Even after moving to Overwatch Headquarters, it was still clear that he had not broken those old survivalist habits. Mei wished he could at least take the time to take a proper bath. Her nose wrinkled at the scent of ash and gasoline that always lingered with him.

Slowly trotting up behind him was his monstrous counterpart, Roadhog. Mei always found she could hold her own against Junrkat and his antics, but Roadhog on the other hand frightened her to no end. His wheezing breath behind his pig shaped gas mask, the fogged lenses that hid his eyes, It was hard for her to find any human qualities in his giant form. Junkrat jumped back into her field of vision wearing a giant, devilish smirk.

"Whatsa matter snowflake? Scare ya? heh!"

"I told you a thousand times Mr. Fawkes, don't call me snowflake!"

"And I told ya a BILLION times ,Ice Queen, call me Jamie! Mr.. Fawkes was me fatha!" he stared blankly for a moment, "I think."

Winson coughed lightly trying to break the tension, and reminding everyone he was still present.

"Why Ello there monkey! Just passin through! Ya hear about our vacation, snowflake? Should be a BLAST I reckon." He giggled lightly at the idea he was pushing her buttons. "A whole week with good ole' Jamie and Roadie here; betcha can't wait!"

A small growl gargled in the back of her throat followed by a stern "HMPH!" as she turned her chin and marched away to her dorm.

Junrkat elbowed the frozen Winston playfully, "I think she's really taken a shine ta me, whadda bout you? hehehe"

"Mr. Fawkes can you please-" Winston sighed

"Yeah yeah I hear ya!" Jamison waved him off as he headed for his own dorm, Roadhog following close behind. "I'll be on me best behavior!"

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                       ----

 

Mei rummaged through her drawers pulling out an assortment of denim shorts, sun dresses, and cute tank tops. Along with her clothes she also packed an old generic Overwatch one piece bathing suit that was given to her during training. She shuddered a little with embarrassment, but it was the only swimsuit she had. She packed it deep into the suitcase; out of sight out of mind. Maybe her friends will pass at poking fun considering how long it's been for her.

It had been far too long since she had given herself a real vacation; she couldn't even remember the last time she visited a beach, well for relaxation purposes. She found herself second guessing the stuff she was packing; was she overpacking? Was she packing enough? She shrugged the thought off, thinking it was best to be over-prepared then under-prepared.  
She plopped the neatly folded pile of clothes into the suitcase laying on her bed.

"Alright! I think that's just about it!"

Suddenly, zooming quickly from behind her, came a very eager Snowball who rested itself onto of the pile with a pleading "Beeep!"

Mei giggled "Don't worry Snowball, I would never forget you!"

Snowball whizzed around in circles beeping with joy.

Out of the corner of her eye Mei noticed the huge stack of papers and notebooks covering her desk, all full of the research she had been conducting recently. She bit her lip; Winston did tell her to take a break, and that's what this was all for right? The temptation lingered for a while as she stared in silence, and finally gave in, taking only one notebook and clamping a few loose papers between it's pages. She shoved it deep into a side zipper pocket of her suitcase and closed the whole thing altogether.

"Alright, for real this time!" she scooped up the suitcase and wheeled it out of her room, Snowball floating behind her. Together they made their way to the dropship.

 

                                                                                                                          ---

 

The couple hour dropship flight allowed Mei some time to really catch up with fellow teammates/friends; and it was really starting to stick out to her just how far behind she had been.

"Lena! That special date you have planned for you and Emily you were telling me about... You will have to let me know how it goes! I was just thinking about it the other da-"

Lena giggled nervously "hehe, uh Mei love, that was over a month ago! S-she did like it though, it was fun!"

"O-oh really? wow... I'm sorry I've been so-" Mei felt herself getting flustered.

Lena interjected with a small loving nudge, "No worries! I totally get it! I do have another one planned though for our anniversary!"  
Mei listened along with a smile, giving small nods of aknowledgement, but something in her stomach turned; she found with every conversation with her fellow teammates, she was always three steps behind. She couldn't help but let out a small sigh when the conversations hit a lull.

"What seems to be the problem, moya?" Zarya spoke up

Suddenly Mei felt her friends eyes on her, and quickly scrambled for an answer.

"I-I'm sorry! I was interested I promise! I just...well...don't feel like a super good friend? I dont know, I'm sorry I haven't been in touch as much. I do care about all of you," she fiddled with her fingers, "I Promis-"

"Mei! Chill! That's what this trip is for! Catching up!" Hana spoke up.

"Yeah Love!" Lena added, "You are a great friend too! Don't say such things! We are here to make up for all the time work has taken away from us!"

"Yeah!" Hana joked, "If anything we should be yellin at Winston over there, overloadin us with so much work! You're killin us!"

Winston just rolled his eyes and chuckled in response.

Mei felt herself becoming more comfortable, and almost strangely determined. Work had taken a lot of time away from her, but that was her own doing. She needed to find a better balance and this trip in a way was a good way to refresh and start anew. She inhaled and then let out a deep breath washing away all the negative thoughts along with it.

The calming moment of recentering herself was interrupted by a low painful moan emanated from the back of the ship. Mei leaned forward to see Roadhog tightly gripping his stomach and practically in a fetal position with a doting Junkrat who seemed to be causing more harm than good.

"There, There big guy!" He repeatedly patted the sickly Roadhog's back, "We will be there in no time! I getcha, pigs weren't meant ta fly! That's what I told em but they didn't listen! I gotcha though. Ya always takin care of me so I gotta watch out for ya too! Hey this does remind me of a time where I-"

"Ugh do you ever shut up?" Roadhog groaned back now holding his head in his hands.

Mei leaned back in her seat wide-eyed trying to ignore the fact those two were even present, shuddering at the idea of Roadhog losing his breakfast and having to be stuck on the plane for another hour with the smell. Her face scrunched up in disgust and Hana took notice, laughing at her and snapping a pic with her cellphone.  
"Blackmail" Hana mouthed at her playfully as Mei tried to snatch the phone away to delete it.

"Those two are really...somethin. huh." Lena was watching the two junker as Junkrat continued to ramble on.

"Hmph. Don't trust them. No good will come from having them here." Zarya added.

Mei shrunk in her seat, "Yeah. I dont like it..."

"Oh come on its not that bad." Hana spoke out while scrolling through her phone, "I hang out with Rat from time to time; he's really not as awful as you guys make him out to be."

Zarya's jaw dropped, "You? and the Rat? Hanging out?"

"Uh yeah? Dont be so dramatic!" She looked away from her phone and glanced over to the Junkers to see if they overheard, they did not. "He's...different, yeah. But you gotta understand his life growing up was not the nicest, but he's trying. The other day he asked for advice from me."

"Advice?" Mei's interest peeked slightly.

"Yeah. He's serious about wanting to stay in Overwatch; he didn't wanna blow his chances on this trip."

"So he can keep leaching off of what Overwatch has to offer?" Mei's face turned sour.

"Yes? I mean dude has never had a real home before, he doesn't want to risk it. He asked me how he can become better friends with you guys. Especially you Mei."

Mei's eyes went wide. Why her? She was never welcoming to him what so ever and clearly stood her ground, making it well known she wanted nothing to do with him. She hated to admit it, but it almost made her feel a little guilty inside.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her again.

"M-me? Why?"

Hana shot her a devilish smirk, "Hmmmm, I dunnooo!" she cooed

"Hana."

"No seriously I don't. He keeps asking though. Ya know guys, we arent exactly good noodles; we all have done things too. Things we aren't proud of. People can change.. they can grow."  
Hana stopped the conversation there, turning her attention back to her cellphone, scrolling mindlessly.

Change. Mei experienced quite a bit of that, more than she could ever imagine. She knew change was possible, and inevitable at times, but she couldn't help but take note of the clear issues that lingered in their dark past. From what she knew of them, they destroyed, stole, and hurt people, all things she, needless to say, very against. But Hana was also right, there was not a single person in overwatch who didn't have a slightly shadey past. Everyone got mixed up in something one way or another and dealt with it accordingly, even if it wasn't the ideal way. But was that really similar to the Junker's situation? She sat in deep thought for the rest of the flight, feeling a small knot forming in the pit of her stomach.

 

                                                                                                                                         ----

 

The first sights of their temporary home caused the party leaving the ship to burst out in various "ooo"s and "aaah"s. The house itself was gigantic, much larger than any of them had expected. Having enough space to allow each guest member to have their own room for the whole trip, as well as various communal areas and a private beach.

"We use to use this place back in the day to do work and give ourselves breaks from time to time; figured it was about time we opened it back up again." Soldier said proudly, showing off Overwatch's secret getaway.

"I had no idea!" Mei practically sparkled, "Thank you!"

"Thank you!" the rest of the team spoke up after her, causing a small blush to glow on Solider's cheeks.

"It's no problem, I suppose you all have worked hard enough"

"You are such a softy, Jack" Ana smiled. "Alright kids, take your things to your rooms and get yourself settled!"

Mei swung her bag over he shoulder and started to make the hike up to the house. Suddenly, someone zoomed past her at a speed that practically knocked her over.

"Hey!" she called out, but he was too excited to listen.

"ROADIE LOOK! LOOK! This place is HUGE! I've nevah seen a house this big before!" He paused and looked back at Roadhog for confirmation, "Have I?"  
Roadhog was taking his time, trying to adjust himself to land.

"You have." he responded flattly.

"Huh." Junkrat looked back at the house and shrugged, then immediately hyped himself up again, "AND THIS BEACH! I've nevah seen a-"

"You have." Roadhog said again.

"Rat you are such a goof!" Hana laughed. Junkrat just scrunched his nose up at her.

"Excuse you, miss! Me memory ain't the sharpest, okay?" He then noticed Mei who was walking alongside her. "Mei! Have you ever seen a house this big?!"

He was smiling at her, sincerely anticipating her response, almost like an excited child. Why would he even care what she thought? She could feel Hana's eyes watching her, anticipating a response as well. Their conversation from earlier suddenly dawned on her.

He wanted to know what she thought because he wanted to be closer to her. Mei felt the guilt from before rising back up; she swallowed any urge to spit a nasty remark at him and proceeded calmly.

"Oh uhm..I guess I haven't seen a beach house this big before. It's pretty cool, huh?"

His face lit up, and a huge smile took up half of his face. She could practically see him vibrating with excitement. Did her words really do that?

"Yeah! It is pretty cool! Hear that Roadie! It's pretty cool! Its super cool!" He turned on his heels and continued to run even faster, giggling madly along the way.  
Hana nudged Mei's arm, "I think that's the first time I have ever seen you respond to him without blowing up."

Mei scoffed, "I mean that weirdo seems so excited; I'm not that mean, you know."

Hana just smiled in response, knowing there was more to it than just that. She playfully grabbed Mei's arm and lead her faster up to the house, everyone following excitedly behind.

 

                                                                                                                                         ---

 

Although Jamison Fawkes was considered an official member of the team, It was obvious to everyone that the higher ranking members did not fully trust him to be unsupervised yet. His spontaneous nature and lack of impulse control caused situations that were not ideal, especially on a relaxing gettaway. Roadhog on the otherhand, even though he too had his share of chaos and destruction from time to time, was trusted to be alone just as anyone else. In fact he encouraged it; any break he got from his other job of making sure Jamison didn't end up dead or worse allowed him time to refresh and relax himself for when he is put back on Junkrat duty.

The two of them were close, and clearly liked eachother, but Roadhog seemed to be the type that needed some "me time" now and again. When Solider ordered Jamison to accompany Ana and Mei on their grocery run to restock the vacation house pantry, Roadhog immediately guided himself to the screened in porch and made himself comfy with a small paperback romance novel.

"Nan!" Junkrat ran up to ana with a beaming smile, "Strike commanda says I gotta help ya with your errands! If'in ya don't mind!"

Mei practically stopped breathing upon hearing that, shooting a confused glare at Soldier who was already shrugging her off. She bit her lip tightly. The idea of having to babysit him on their trip was one thing, but in public, around other people?! Mei felt the anxiety of all that could go wrong swelling up inside her. I do mind! she screamed in her head.

"Of course!" Ana smiled back sweetly, pinching Jamison's cheek. "I could always use the extra hands! Mei you are in charge of the list."

Junkrat quickly turned his gaze to Mei, visibally becoming flustered.

"Oh uh, Ya goin too Ice queen?"

"Yes." Mei didnt meet his gaze and just made her way to the car. She wanted to get through this as quick as possible and make her way back to her friends again.

Upon arriving to the store, Mei was already out of the car and marching to the entrance; she gave the appearance of a woman on a mission, and in a way she was. She wanted to get in and out. Ana and Junkrat however were lingering behind some, taking their time. She briefly overheard Junkrat attempt to convince Ana let him be in control of the shopping cart but she brushed that idea away in a kind motherly manner.

Mei always admired that about Ana, and she could tell that everyone else did too, including the Junkers. She always had a kind and welcoming aura that surrounded her; despite everything she had been through personally, Ana never let that stop her from being the golden hearted mother of the Overwatch team. That of course did not mean she was afraid to get serious and discipline when she needed to; she kept everyone in line, but gave them her love as well.

Junkrat attached himself to her from the beginning. Perhaps because he never had that parent figure himself, as far as he knew at least. Ana disciplined him when catching him doing things he wasn't suppose to, but also gave him snacks, praised him and supported his interests unconditionally. A patience with him Mei did not understand. She started to feel somewhat angry watching them together, as if he were taking advantage of her kindness just as he probably was with the rest of Overwatch. He's still a criminal, she reminded herself.

After some walking around the store, Mei realized she was so caught up in trying to get everything on the list that she had accidently separated herself from her two partners. She grabbed the few items from the aisle she was in and made her way down to the next aisle to see if they were there. On the way she noticed from the corner of her eye Jamison huddled by a shelf on the aisle end cap, that was occupied with various small snacks. Raising an eyebrow, she quietly tip toed over to see what he was doing. Then she saw it, he was quickly grabbing packages off the shelf and sneaking them into his cargo pants.

"Mr Fawkes!" she whispered sharply at him, causing him to yelp.

He sprung around and shoved his hands in his pockets, eyes darting from side to side, "S-snowflake! Don't scare me like that! I was just-"

"Just stealing?!"

His face turned beat red upon being caught in the act; he knew he wasn't dodging this one.

"I-I just thought..W-Well.. Its not that big of deal ok!?" He frantically tried to search for a reason or excuse, anything. "It was just sittin there and I-"

"And you tried to steal it! Mr Fawkes that's not ok!"

His face scrunched up into a scowl, suddenly he got defensive, "What?! I was hungry ok?! What the sales guys don't know won't hurt em! I was gunna eat it all, not gunna waste it or anything!"

"It doesn't matter if you were going to waste them or not!" She lunged at him and snatched the snacks from his pockets, looking around making sure nobody else saw, "You can't steal things! It's against the law you could get in huge trouble!"

"This isn't my first time or anythin! I know what I'm doin!" He was starting to shake, with anger, fear and frustration all at once.

Mei was as well. Even though she was strong her anxiety would take over from time to time, and she was full of fiery anger, but also did not want to attract any attention at all.

"I KNOW ITS NOT YOUR FIRST TIME, TRUST ME." she hissed.

Jamison stopped shaking all together, frozen, staring at her in fear.

She composed herself and took a deep breath. "Look, Mr. Fawkes. You are a part of Overwatch now." She forcefully put the snacks back on the shelf, "You can't go around doing stuff like this anymore. You have a reputation to keep and you have to be on your best behavior....What if Ana saw you? She would be very upset!"

It was clear that hearing the possibility of Ana catching him in the act instead of Mei had a real effect on him. He was suddenly very guilty, eyeing Mei with an injured look on his face.

"Y-ya won't tell her, will ya?"

Mei took a deep breath; she wanted more than anything to just shove him infront of Ana, make a scene and call him out for the criminal he really was. Maybe Overwatch would then see that hiring him was a mistake. But the way he was looking at her really tugged at her in a different way. Mei hated hurting people, even if they deserved it some times; maybe part of her wants him to grow, just like Hana suggested.

"I won't tell her..."

Junkrat beamed, only to be interrupted with a finger pointed straight to his face.

"BUT." Mei said sternly, "Don't you ever do that again."

He smiled nervously, drawing an "X" on his chest with his finger, "Cross me heart!"

She pushed her finger into his chest, "I mean it Fawkes; this is your final warning. I'm on to you"

His face contorted into a confused expression, "I'm not sure what your gettin at..."

"I know you are up to something, and I won't stand for any of it! Overwatch is my family and I won't let anything happen to it."

She wasn't sure what she was saying, it was all just coming out at once. She was telling the truth though; she knew he must have been up to something,

He began to scowl at her, "I ain't plottin nothin. Honest. And trust me, if I was, it woulda happened already. But I'm not so," He brushed her finger off his chest, "Sorry tah burst your bubble, Snowflake."

Her cheeks puffed up with anger as he slyly swung himself around and marched off in the opposite direction. Whether her point was made clear enough to him, she wasn't sure, but she was glad she said it. Even if it felt harsh after the fact, she wanted him to know how important Overwatch was to her, and if he really did have schemes floating in his mind, she was going to stop him.  
They both eventually made their way back to Ana who seemed to be looking for them as well.

"Oh! There you are! I was-" She paused and looked over to Jamison, who was glaring at the floor. "Jamie, what's wrong?"

Mei side eyed him, and he did the same back to her. "Nothin Nan...Just a lil tired is all."

Ana eyed them both suspiciously, "Okay then. Let's head on back."

The car ride back was extremely quiet compared to the first. There was no playful banter from Junkrat what-so-ever. It almost felt eery to see him in deep silence, staring out the window. Mei sat in thought as well. When she looked at him she felt that small pinch of guilt she felt eariler; was what she said too harsh? She shook her head, no, it had to be said. He had done terrible things, and Overwatch was all she had left, she had to protect it. But then she thought, "Did I really even give him a chance?" She shook her head again, quickly pushing that thought aside.

 

                                                                                                                                      ----

 

It seemed as though Jamison took the car ride as an opportunity to bury any frustration he had because by the time they had arrived back to the house and he saw Lucio and Hana outside the window, he was immediately back to his old self.

Mei proceeded to help Ana with the groceries, and Ana did attempt to ask Mei if she knew anything regarding his attitude, but Mei claimed she didn't and moved on.  
It was already dark by the time they were unfinished unloading the groceries, and the once spotless kitchen countertop was suddenly occupied with various sized bottles and cans all filled with alcohol.

"THE SUNS DOWN! IT'S TIME TO PARTY!" Hana cheered as she popped open a beer bottle and began to chug. Mcree, Genji and a few others started to cheer her on up until Solider swiftly snatched the bottle from her hand. A long string of "boos" quickly followed.

"What are you doing with that, Hana?!"

"Uhhh Partying with good friends? Come on don't be so stingy it's not like its my first time."

"Not your first-" He stuttered angerly, "You are underage!"

She snatched the bottle back, smirking at him, "Not in Korea, Im not."

She continued to chug the rest of the bottle, causing the whole rest of the house to burst into cheers. The party had officially started.

Solider eventually gave in after being convinced by Angela and Rienhardt that it was okay; not that he was happy about it. He however allowed it and joined everyone in the festivities.  
It did not take long for everyone to losen up, thanks to both the stress of work everyone had pent up inside them and the many shots being passed around throughout the house. Rienhardt was louder than usual which people forgot was even possible, recounting his many stories of all his brave adventures, while Torbjourn and his daughter Bridgette giggled amongst themselves at how ridiculous he was sounding. Zarya was challenging everyone in sight to an arm wrestling match; few took on the challenge, none passed. Mei even started to take some shots and was on her second beer, which was a lot for her personally. She was considered to be a lightweight, and was often made fun of by her coworkers at Ecopoint for it. After a beer and a half she would start to feel a little fuzzy, but tonight she was pushing past that and really letting lose.

Her friends were somewhat to blame. They encouraged her, almost as if they were plotting it earlier with eachother. They never pressured her, part of her really wanted to losen up; with all of the hard work she had been putting herself through, she could afford to party with her friends. She was a confident drunk. She had no filter and was not afraid to be herself and say what she meant, which everyone loved. They loved to see her feeling comfortable in her skin, and she loved to feel that way.

Soon Mei, Hana, Angela, Mcree, Lucio and Pharah ended up at a fold out table on the screened in porch. Hana placed a deck of cards on the table and refilled everyone's drinks for them.

"Lets play BS!" She annouced, "Its a ton of fun! I think you will definitely like it, Angela."

Angela giggled "Me? How do you even play?"

"Its pretty simple," She started to deal the cards around the table, "We go around the circle clockwise, putting cards into the center of the pile face down and in chronological order. It has to be in chronological order, so if you don't have the card that comes after the previous card, you can lie and put a card face down in the center. At any time, someone can call BS if they think you are bluffing. If you are bluffing, you have to take all the cards in the center. And if you aren't, the person who accused you has to take all the cards. Whoever gets rid of all their cards first, wins!"

Angela nodded, trying to surpress her giggles. "Soooo you gotta be really good at lying!"

Hana smiled at her, "You gotta have a really good poker face, Miss giggly drunk."

Angela and Pharah burst out into laughter, and at a drop of a hat Angela miraculously composed herself again, putting on an impressively good poker face.  
"I think I can do that, no problem!"

"Alright! Let's play. OH HEY! JAMIE! Come join us!"

Hana had just caught junkrat who was walking past the door. He stopped in his tracks turned to smile at them, only to then make akward eye contact with Mei. He stared at her blankly for a moment, almost as if he were contemplating the idea of joining them, but instantly shrugged it off and walked up to the table, sitting adjacent from her.

"Ya playin, BS? I gotta warn ya, I'm pretty good at this one."He looked up at Mei, making hard, direct eye contact with her.

It felt like a challenge to Mei, esspecially since she was very intoxicated. She was up for challenges though, now more than ever. In this state she felt unstoppable, even if that was not necessarily true. She scooped up her cards, squared them together neatly then fanned them out infront of her. Junkrat watched her carefully and quizzically, and imitated her actions.

The game began, starting with mcree and working its way around the table.

"2, twos."

"1, three."

"2, fours."

Junkrat's turn came to play.

"2, fives."

Mei jumped at the opportunity.

"Bs." she asserted.

The table broke out into small chuckles at the first accusation of the game. Junkrat however was not laughing, he glared at her behind his cards, and rolled his eyes.

"Typical." He muttered to himself. Flipping the cards to reveal he was infact lying. He pulled the cards to himself and added them to his deck. Mei raised an eyebrow at him as the game continued around the circle.

"Excuse me?" she questioned.

"Oh nothin'." He shrugged.

"No no. You said something. I want to hear." She placed her cards in the center of the table, "3 nines."

"It's nothin, Snowflake. Just pretty typical of you to jump at the first chance to accuse me over everyone else here. 1 Queen."

"Hmm, Maybe I have good reason to suspect you would lie! 2 Kings!"

Lucio tried to kindly interject but was immediately ignored, "Uhm it was my turn.."

Junkrat continued even louder than before, "And why's that, Miss perfect? Cuz I'm from the scary ole Outback? Or maybe cuz ya aint too keen to new people in your lil possie? 1 Ace!"

"More like you are a literal criminal with your face plastered on wanted posters throughout the whole world! 2 twos!"

"We've all done things we aint proud of just ta get by, love, ain't no shame in that. Theres always room to grow! Not that you would ever give anyone the chance to! 3 threes!"

"Is it just me or is it gettin a lil hot in here." Jesse muttered amongst everyone else while tugging at his shirt. Everyone else just stared in shock, not able to comprehend the situation.

"I would so give people the chance if I felt they deserved it! Let's not forget what happened earlier! And don't call me Love! 1 Four."

"I ain't ever done anything to you so why the attitude? 1 Five."

"I don't care if you never done anything to me! How can you live with yourself, honestly! You may not have done anything to me but you have hurt plenty of innocent people! 2 sixes!"

"You have no clue what I've done!"

"Oh I've read your files! Stealing, arson, destruction of property, OH! and MURDER!"

Junkrat's eyes widened in shock; he could feel everyone's minds in the room ticking and humming with thoughts of him doing those things. His mind scrambled and sweat began to bead on his forehead. Then he snapped.

Junkrat stood up to his full hieght, looming over everyone, "I AINT EVER KILLED ANYONE WHO DIDNT DESERVE IT. 2, SEVENS."

Mei stood up too, "BS."

"OH YEAH?! READ. IT. AND. WEEP." He flipped his cards over to reveal 2 sevens, and then with one single motion, he pushed all the cards at Mei, sending them flying in her face. Everyone gasped and pushed away from the table some to separate themselves. Everyone except for one.

"ENOUGHHHH." A roaring voice shook the room, and it came from none other than Angela herself.

The air grew even heavier. Silence quickly overtook everyone, including those who were not even in the room. Everyone in the whole house stood motionless. It was not often Angela losed her cool, let alone raised her voice at others. Everyone's face looked as if grim reaper just entered the room coming to claim their souls.

Angela calmly brushed her hair behind her ears and took a deep breath, recollecting herself.  
"It's not often I get a vacation," She began with a calm voice that almost felt eerie after the sudden outburst, "I will not have it starting off this way."

Angela turned to Mei, who in return uttered a small gasp, "Mei, I expected more from you. Of all people I would think you would be the most welcoming to our new members, regardless of their past. I am very disappointed."

Meis heart sank in her chest.

Angela shifted her attention to Jamison, "Mr. Fawkes. Being a part of Overwatch is a great honor. We have welcomed you with open arms and provided you all we can to give you a whole new life. I would hope you would think about that before making such outbursts."

Jamison averted his eyes down to the scattered pile of cards on the table. Almost as if he were in deep thought.

"Now," She continued, "I want you both to go to your rooms for the rest of the night and think about this. I expect a fresh start tomorrow. I want all of this behind us."

"Angela I-" Mei started hesitantly.

"That's an order, soliders." 76 interrupted. Who was now standing in the doorway, arms crossed and furious.

The two excused themselves from the table and made their way into the house. The feeling of everyone's eyes following them endused fear, almost as if they were making a walk of shame back to their rooms. The silence still lingered, Mei could hear her heart beating in her chest a million miles a minute.

They both made their way to the hall and ended up taking the same turn to their rooms. Mei dreaded that they were both walking the same way. She hated the awkward silence between them after what they had done. She hated this feeling. She hated the idea of standing with him for any longer. She hated the hurt; the pit of her stomach riddled with guilt and her heart that could not slow down long enough for her to just breathe. She hated that Angela got so upset that she yelled. She had never seen Angela yell before, and the first time she did, it was at her.  
All the anxiety, sadness, guilt and fear started to overtake her on that long long walk back to her room. So much her body could no longer contain it. She began to cry. She couldn't stop the tears and at that point she did not even care that Jamison saw. She just kept crying, shuffling her feet, and slowing her pace. She did not care if he saw, if he made fun of her. Except, to her surprise, he didn't.  
He jumped a little upon hearing her sob, and looked down at her, wide-eyed. When he finally noticed she may have saw him react he quickly looked away and kept moving. Letting her cry as much as she needed beside him without making any comments or remarks. She even noticed he slowed his pace too to keep up with her. Almost as if he did not want to abandon her in her time of vulnerability, and part of her somewhat appreciated that gesture.

Finally they made it to their rooms, and entered each of them without saying a word.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their dramatic outburst in front of their teammates, Jamison and Mei make the time to talk to one another and reach a common ground. The night ends in a much different way than Mei could have ever anticipated.

After finally getting all of her tears out of her system, Mei used the rest of the night distracting herself with her research. She locked the door and cascaded various papers and documents across her bed. She stationed herself at the desk in her room for quite a while, occationally running back and forth from the bed to the desk, switching out papers for new ones and memorizing it's data.  
After all of the crying and research her eyes started to get heavy. She started to drift off after the 10th page of notes, and because of that her emotional guard began to fall again. Thoughts flooded through as her eyes became heavier. 

Angela expected more from Mei. So did Hana. Both of them expected Mei to be more welcoming in an unconditional manner, and she let both of them down. Hana's words echoed in her mind as her head lowered itself to the desktop.

"We've all done things too. Things we arent proud of." 

She then pictured Jamison, and his smile he shot at her earlier in the day, and the guilt she felt after confronting him. Her eyes felt even heavier as she gave in and fell asleep at her desk.  
Her slumber was interupted by a sharp knock on her door and snowball beeping loudly to get her attention. She shot up in her seat, hair falling out of her bun and papers sticking to her skin. Pealing them off she lazily arose from her seat and shuffled to the door. 

"Coming." she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. 

She quickly woke up after seeing who was on the other side waiting for her. Jamison stared down at her, biting his lip as if he was worried the wrong words would come out. He quickly took notice to all the papers scattered around the room. She pushed herself into his field of vision; not wanting anyone to find out she brought work to their vacation, even if it was just Junkrat.

"I-Is right now a bad time? I didn't wake ya did I?"

She opened her mouth and nothing came out for a breif moment, just akward silence. "Uhh. Uhm No No. It's fine. What can I do for you?"

He bit his lip again and pulled up a bottle of plum wine and gave it a small shake back and forth. 

"Thought maybe we could uh.. talk for a bit."

She eyed the wine curiously.

"Dont worry, I didn't steal it if that's what ya wonderin." He joked akwardly. Perhaps a little too early to joke about that, but he was never one to feel the moment before speaking.  
She thought for a moment, and then nodded. 

She grabbed her blanket off her bed and wrapped it around her and followed Jamison out the rooftop. There was a small deck with seating; it had a beautiful veiw of the beach as well as the cliffs that formed off the ends of it. They both pulled up a chair and sat confortably infront of the railing. 

They sat in silence for a bit not sure where to even begin. Jamison then grabbed the wine and used his pocket knife to haphazardly pry it open, then took a huge gulp straight from the bottle. He passed it to Mei, who was hesitant to drink straight after him at first, but then shrugged the idea off and took a swig anyways. The lip of the bottle had a small taste of gas, it was still warm from his lips, and blended well with the chill of the wine. 

"Plum wine, huh? Are you a fan?" she asked him passing it back.

"Eh. It's pretty good. It just seemed like it suited ya out of the options."

"It's my favorite actually." she smiled slightly at the spot on guess. "My mom and I use to share a bottle from time to time... back when she-"

Mei paused and bit her lip at the sadness of the memories she could no longer share with her mother. 

"-well. It was a while ago." She stared off at the stars and let the memory fade away.

"Ya from Lijiang rioght?"

Mei nodded and took another sip from the bottle. 

"I love it there." Junkrat continued, "My favorite place I've been. Not just sayin things. I love the bright lights, the liveliness." He shot a devilish smirk at her, "The fireworks."

Mei couldn't help but smile back, "You've been?"

"Oh yeah many times! Roadie and I have made a few worldwide hies-" He suddenly realized what he was saying and stopped. He rememebered Mei wasn't too keen on the idea of hiests and illegal activity.  
He coughed, "Er well. Ya know we've been around the world togetha and I made sure we stopped there a few times. Even uh.. I even speak some Manderin myself."

Mei's eyes widened in surprise, "Really?"

"Heh. Yeah...Took up learning a lil of it. Not super good but just enough to get me around the place when I visit, and the fun stuff like curses and things like that. Uh.. Speaking of which..."  
He gave her an akward half smile. "Those things you say about me under your breath in Manderin...I uh... I could kinda hear ya. And understand ya."

Mei's face went bright red, "Oh. Uh. I-I'm really sorry, I-"

"You were right."

"H-huh?"

"You were right about me. All of it." He stared down at the bottle, and took another long swig from it. "Ah. I-I am all those things. Im not a good person, snowflake. and I....I have killed people. Sometimes...people that didn't really deserve it. It was nevah my intention but.."

He seemed as though he was having a lot of trouble collecting all of his thoughts. His eyes darted from side to side and his grip on the bottle tightened with each word. Mei just found herself studying him, and actually interested in hearing his side of things. She waited patiently for him to continue. 

He breathed in sharply, "The Outback is different. Very different from here... with you. Ever since I was a pup I was alone, trying to survive each day. It got hard. Came across a whole lot of people along the way, a good part of em just screwed me over in the end. Cost me an arm an' a leg if ya get my drift." He giggled a bit at his own joke. Mei couldn't find it in her to laugh too. 

"In the Oz it's kill or be killed. You gotta steal to eat. Ya gotta beat people's faces in to get shit back that's been stolen from ya. The kids die young or join others in the fight to survive in order to make it there. It's all I've ever known really. One day these guys did wrong by me so badly. They were pure evil, I mean beyond bad. They did things I ain't even keen on repeatin."

He took a lighter out of his pocket and flipped it on and off, "That's round the time I discovered firepower. I learned explosives and how to rig em and boy it gave me a rush like nothin else. I was gunna give it back to those punks, show em who's boss. Knew they all met at this one joint to grab drinks and food; I buried bombs all around the building, I was finally gunna stop em. I was gunna help a lot of people by wiping those jerks off the map. And I did. But.."

He flipped the lighter off and stared at it blankly, "Didn't think about the fact they weren't the only ones there..."

Mei gasped a little averting her eyes quickly. 

"A family... They..." he tossed the lighter aside and left it at that. 

"Y-you didn't know." Mei tried to comfort him, he looked back at her. 

"It doesnt mattah. I did it. I'm a murderer, Snowflake. And that wouldn't be the last time Ive hurt other people who weren't askin for it. I-I couldn't seem to learn to just think..."  
They sat in silence again, and she could tell he was becoming more frustrated trying to collect his thoughts but he continued.

"I met Roadie though, and boy did that big lug save my arse in more ways than one. Don't know much about Roadie, where he's been, what he's done. But I know he looks out for me far bettah then anyone in the outback ever has or ever will. I-I care about the big lug. And... He seems to be happy with this life. At Overwatch. He's gettin old. He's slowin down. I know he likes beatin up guys left and right just as much as the next guy but... He also likes borin stuff like books and knitting and shit like that. He's done a lot, puttin up with me. He deserves a good life, I think he can find it here."

Mei watched as Junkrat beamed talking about his friend. She never really expected Jamison to be the type to care about others to that degree. 

"That's why I dont wanna screw this up." He said abruptly. "I gotta make this work, ya know? So... What can I do?" 

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"To make it here..."

She took a deep breath. "Overwatch believes in you Jamison, that's why you are here. You have the chance to start over. You just... need to avoid feeling like you need to steal or do bad things in order to make it. You have to trust us. You need to trust that we aren't going to let you fail."

She looked over to him and noticed the way he was looking at her. His face lit up bright pink, and she could sware she saw the tips of his hair burst a bigger flame then what was there before. Her cheeks grew red and she became flustered. 

"W-What?"

"Y-Ya said my name."

Her face got even hotter.

"Y-yeah I guess I did..."

He smiled sweetly at her, eyes curving with his lips. 

"I like it. You should do it more often. Makes me actually like my name quite a bit hearing it from you." He giggled and she couldn't help but giggle bit too. 

"I actually have a question for you.." she started.

"Shoot." 

"Why me? I mean well, Hana told me you ask about me a lot...But, I don't understand why."

She sat for a brief moment remembering all of the harsh words she said to him throughout his time at Overwatch so far, and how she would dodge him and ignore his advances. The feeling of guilt built up inside her again, all bubbling out at once. 

"I-I'm not nice to you. At all. I ignore you, belittle you, call u names. Yet, you still wonder about me? And you invite me out here to be alone with me? After all of that I just, don't understand why you still care what I think of you."

Junkrat stared at her for a bit as if he were processing what she had asked. Suddenly his body started to shake, and he erupted into a loud laughing fit, holding his stomach tightly in his arms, trying to catch his breath. 

"H-hey I'm being serious! What's so funny!"

He wiped the tears that were forming in his eyes, "hahahah-ahhh It's you snowflake! You're funny! Hooly dooly, I really didn't pin ya as the oblivious type haha."

She scrunched her face up into an angry frown and scoffed, "Rude!"

"Nah! I mean it! you are smart I just figured you would get it by now!"

"Get what? What are you talking about??"

"That I lik-" he clasped his hands over his mouth, cheeks glowing red. He had a tendency to not think before speaking, and he knew the word vomit was about to come out sooner than he would have liked. He composed himself quickly, with Mei watching him with a confused look on her face. 

"I-I wanna get tah know ya more cuz I think you are an admirable person, ya know? You're smart, kind and a good judge of character! I wanna be...uhm..friends? With ya?"

"You...think I'm admirable even though I yelled at you a bunch?"

He scratched the back of his head, cheeks still beet red. "I've seen ya with the others, you have a soft smile and always listen to em, support em. Kinda wish I was a parta that. And you yellin at me? Heh." He grinned at her devilishly again, "What can I say? Ya kinda cute when you're angry."

Mei gasped, turning her face away and blushing like crazy. Cute? Her? Was he flirting with her? It's been a while since a guy had hit on her. She never really made time to go out, and yes she was use to it from Mcree but he charmed literally everyone he spoke to so the meaning behind it felt stale. Little did she know junkrat had also turned away, throwing his face into his palm. So much for holding back that word vomit. He didn't want to scare her off. 

"I-I'm Uhm.." she uttered softly. Her face still growing red. Jamison shot his head up quickly watching her, but she couldn't seem to make eye contact. 

"I'm sorry, Jamison. I was scared. I knew you based on your files and what I saw in the news, I never really...ya know..took the chance to talk to you. Personally. I'm sorry. I should have given u a chance. And I really was, but then I saw you stealing and..."

He lowered his gaze, "y-yeah that..I'm sorry too."

"But I understand now." She continued, "You are having trouble. I know how hard change can be...I mean, shoot...I was asleep for 9 years, and woke up to my family and a lot of my friends gone forever. Adjusting to a new life can be hard but, you need to find a way to. We can help you, all you have to do is trust us. But you can't do things like that anymore. You need to trust that we will not let you down."

"Ya want me to trust you?" The look on his face darkened. His fingers tapped anxiously on the bottle gripped in his hand. "I ain't ever trusted anyone. Except Roadie. What if I get let down? Ya know, screwed over? Again..."

Mei practically jumped out of seat, passion oozing from her as she spoke, "We won't! Everyone here is so wonderful and trustworthy! Angela is so kindhearted and will never let you fall! And you met Ana, she loves everyone including you! A-and Lucio would help anyone at any chance he got! Solider may seem angry most of the time, B-but he is like that because he cares and sees our potential. He's hard on us cuz he knows we can do more!"

Junkrat watched in awe as Mei continued to ramble on about all of their teammates. He watched her smile and laugh while recounting memories she had shared with them, he couldn't help but smile too. He rested his head in his hands and just watched her; the way she spoke about them, the way she lit up, she was so beautiful. She finally took notice to her rambling and stopped herself with a nervous laugh. 

"S-sorry I just, really care about them a lot. And I know how they care about others so..."

"I can tell." He smiled. "Kinda hope you talk about me that way one day."

He coughed anxiously, "-Er I-I mean...I hope I can become the best me I can be too."

She smiled, "I know I've said some things I'm not proud of to you, but I-I do think you can. No matter what comes and goes...Overwatch will always be there for you."

He smiled big, "I trust ya."

She looked back at him and smiled. Overwatch means so much to her and she was scared of him coming in and ruining it when she should have been sharing it with him. She looked up at the sky, stars shimmering and reflecting off the water, she felt anther huge weight lift from her shoulders. It felt nice. 

"It's gettin late, sorry for keepin ya out. You should get some rest. Saw how upset you were earlier, must of been tiring"  
He rose from his seat and nodded her to follow him back inside. She followed. 

"Heh, yeah...it was a lot. I've never seen Angela yell before it was super scary."

"Angelface has got some fire in her that's for sure"

They both carried on down the hall engaging in small talk here and there until they finally got to Mei's door. She thanked him for the wine and opened the door only to find Jamison leaning over her pushing himself in. 

"What's with all the papers by the way?" He snickered, knowing well he was being super nosey. She felt her heart jump. As fast as she could she pushed the both of them out into the hall and closed the door behind her.

"D-don't tell. Please. Everyone told me not to bring work with me but I-I just thought of I got some down time I could-" she looked up to find him smirking down at her knowing he had her cornered. 

"Don't tell. Please. I'll do anything."  
She bit her lip realizing what she just said, embracing herself for what he may throw back at her. She could see he was already getting ideas, the amber in his eyes sparkled and his grin sharpened.

"Anything huh?"

"I-i was-" she stuttered, only to be inturupted by him. He suddenly bent down to her level, pressing his hand on the door directly next to her head. She squeaked with surprise as he brought his face down to hers. They were so close, she could feel the warmth radiating from his skin, his eyes like fire glowing brightly. 

"That's what you said, right snowflake? Anything?" He growled.

She gulped, absolutely speechless. 

He giggled lightly, and brought his face up to her ear, his skin brushing against hers, she jumped slightly. She held her breath awaiting his request, her cheeks were on fire. He breathed against her ear. His body heat getting warmer and warmer the closer he got to her. It was nice. She lost herself, waiting, wanting-

"Put that shit away." He whispered. 

He then pulled away with a large belly laugh. He was keeled over holding his stomach trying not to fall over. 

"Awww snowflake hahahaha. Ya should've seen ya face! Ahh-hahhaa!" He kept laughing as he walked to his room, turning to her one last time. 

"Don't lemme catch ya with that stuff again and I maybe just maybe won't tell!" He shot her a wink, "night snowflake!"

The door slammed behind him. Mei was left alone standing in the hall, still frozen like a statue. Once she finally got a grasp of reality she scrambled back into her room closing the door behind her. She leaned herself against the door, sliding down to the floor. Her face was growing even redder, and her gaze was empty, her mouth agape. 

Snowball buzzed over to her, nestling itself into her lap. 

"I-I'm not sure what just happened snowball...w-wow.."


	3. Chapter 3

Mei stared at herself in the mirror as she tugged the edges of her generic Overwatch one piece. Her face contorted into a look of disgust. 

"Oh god...it's worse than I expected." She turned her body side to side checking from all angles. The suit itself was well over 10 years old, hardly used, but she had still outgrown it quite a bit. She cursed herself for not taking the time to go out and purchase a new one upon hearing about their sudden trip, but she was so caught up in her research to do so. 

"Maybe if I..?" She pulled the arm straps up only to have the bottom pull up as well, revealing more leg that she was comfortable with, "Nope! Nope!"

In the hall she could hear Hana approaching her door.

"Lucio! I'm headin out without ya! I can't wait anymore!" She knocked on Mei's door, "Mei can I come in?"

"S-sure!" Mei answered hesitantly, still examining her suit in the mirror.

Dva entered the room and stopped in her tracks upon seeing Mei. Her eyes widened in shock and horror. To add insult to injury, Hana looked super adorable. Her high waisted bikini bottoms matched so well with her top. Her hair was styled up into two buns, and sitting on top her head was a pair of heart shaped sunglasses. 

"Oh no." She whispered. 

"I know Hana, it's bad. Please end me."

"God, with all the money Overwatch dumps into everything you would think they could have put a little more effort in their clothing designs."

Hana ran up and stood behind Mei, both of them examining it in the mirror. 

Mei held her hands up to her face, "I can't go out there like this. This ugly color, the way it fits me it's just ugh I-I don't know what to do."

Hana stood examining her for a bit longer and snapped her fingers. "Got it!"

Like a speeding bullet she rushed out of the room practically running Lucio over in the process. 

"Wait where are you goin?! What about not waiting anymore?" He yelled out to her.

"We've got a crisis!" She yelled back. 

By the time she came back in the room her arms were full of an assortment of different clothes and beauty products. 

Hana had a magic touch; her fans not only admired her gaming and acting skills, but also her fashion. She was featured on magazine covers around the world, had millions of followers on instagram, and even started her own clothing line at one point. All before the age of 20! 

She had, as Lucio would jokingly put it, the ability to turn "drab into fab". Within twenty minutes Mei was standing in front of the mirror in complete awe. 

Hana successfully transformed her uncomfortable, unflattering beach look into something chic. She took a dark, sheer shaw and tied it around her waistline, added bracelets and charms to her wrists, large seashell earrings in her ears, tied her hair into two poofy braids on either side of her head, added some natural makeup to her face and lips, and topped it off with a large sun hat. 

It was some minor touches but when done by Hana's creative hands, it looked like a completely different outfit. 

"I-I look..." Mei stammered still staring at herself.

Dva peaked over her shoulder and smiled big, "-Hot!" 

They both giggled while jumping up and down excitedly. It felt like they were in high school again, getting dressed up. 

"Now you can go out there and people will think twice before they make a comment about that swimmsuit!"

"Thanks Hana." Mei smiled. 

"Don't mention it! By the way...I heard you and Jamie in the hall last night, it sounds like you worked things out."

Mei's face turned red, "Y-you heard us? Oh my gosh I hope we didn't wake you! I'm sorry!"

"No no!" Hana waved her hands, "I had to stream last night so I was up! Wasn't anticipating another drunk streaming session but after last night....YUP! Haha!"

Mei looked down at her hands folded in her lap and smiled, "Yeah we talked for a bit. Sorted things out."

"I'm super glad to hear that! It makes me really happy."

"I'm sorry Hana, about last night." Mei's lips trembled trying to hold back a sudden flood of tears after thinking about the way she acted, "I was so-...I just-"

Hana quickly acted, wrapping her arms around Mei, rocking her back and forth as a few tears made their way through the floodgates. 

"Mei no! Don't worry!"

"A-and Angela! I'm so scared to face her today, what if she's upset!"

"Like I said no worries! I hope you don't mind, I talked to everyone. Told them I heard you and Jamie laughing together. I know it wasn't my place but I wanted you to not have to worry about that anymore. They all understand and are happy too!"

Mei sniffled a bit, reeling the tears back in. 

"Y-you did that? They understand?"

"Yes! Hell, Angela was so drunk she didn't even remember yelling. She's scared as well! Yeah, lots of feelings up in this house lately."

"Oh my goodness, you all are too good to me really, even when I don't deserve it!"

"Well, it's kinda cuz we love you, Mei."

They both smiled sweetly at each other. Mei was happy things felt more resolved between her and Jamison, and she was even more happy that everyone else was happy to. They are a team, and she wanted everyone to feel completely comfortable with one another. The last think Mei ever wanted to do was add strain to the amazing team they had. She knew also that Hana reaching out to everyone was more than just helping the team, but helping Mei personally too, and she appreciated that with all of her heart. 

With that, Hana grabbed Mei's arm and guided her out to the room and to the beach. 

\------

"Go and give'm hell, Genji" Mcree ordered, tipping his straw hat to block the sun's rays. 

Genji nodded at his order, preparing to make a serve. On their side of the beach volleyball net resided Mcree, Genji, Jamison, and Roadhog. On the other side stood Lena, Winston, Pharah and Zarya, all in ready stances to counter Genji's attack. 

Genji studied the opposing team carefully, and at the opportune moment, he striked; serving the ball with such a heavy force the rest of his team could fell the wind flash by them as the ball sped over the net. 

Tracer kept her eye on the oncoming target, jumping side to side to better gauge its landing position. Winston suddenly kept over his team from the back lines.

"I GOT IT!" He called, "PRIMALLLLLL PUNCH!" 

With all his strength he knocked the volleyball out of the air, sending it at full speed into ground on the opposing teams side.

Mcree and his team dove out of the way, knowing well if they stayed in it's trajectory they would be flattened. As the smoke from the kicked up sand faded, a crater in the middle of the court was reveled, with the volleyball crammed right in the center of it. 

"Good god, Winston..." Mcree uttered, staring at the crater in shock.

Winston however was siting and rocking back and forth in a laughing fit, joy radiating from him. "Hahah! This is so much fun! I've never played this game before! We should do it more often!"

Lena nudged Winston sending a sassy wink at Mcree as she spoke, "And I knew you would be a natural, Big guy! See why I chose him for my team?"

Mcree looked exhausted, "Yeah I can definitely see that for sure..."

They got back into their positions and Lena prepared to make the next serve. She tossed it up and sent it whirling over the next and into Jamison's square. 

"Looks like its yours, Rat!" Mcree called out.

"Roight!" Junkrat prepared himself.

He has every intention of sending it over. He really did. But as he was watching the ball a glimmer of something caught his attention and time began to slow down. He couldn't take his eyes off of it. Well, more like he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

In the distance he saw Mei entering the beach, walking up to the group laying out in the sun and chatting with them. 

She looked so stunning. 

It was a light he had never seen her in before. The sun glistened off her skin, and there was so much skin to see. The way the sheer fabric danced off her bare legs in the wind. Her smile, the way she tucked her braids behind her ears as she spoke, revealing her bare neck and shoulders. Not to mention how her swimsuit hugged her torso, complimenting her curves. 

He stared at her, completely hypnotized. Time may have stopped for him, but gravity however, still worked fine. 

Before he knew it the volleyball pelted him hard on face, sending him into the sand with a thud. 

He could've swore he heard a few people yelp and call his name. When he opened his eyes he was greeted by the sight of his teammates huddling over him, each one of them wearing a look of both confusion and concern. 

Lena offered a hand to help him and he took it, hoisting him up off the ground. 

"What was that all about love?"

"You were like a deer and headlights for a moment there." Mcree added.

Jamison rubbed the back of his head, his gaze unconsciously leading back to Mei in the distance, "Y-yeah I dunno, sun must of gotten to me or somethin." 

Roadhog kept a short distance from the huddle. He looked at Jamison and followed his gaze leading to Mei, and then looked back to him. He was staring, star struck and blushing red. Roadhog connected two and two and let out an exhausted sigh. "Ugh..."

It's true Roadhog had a soft spot for romance novels and stories; he was never shy about people knowing. But witnessing that from someone he knew in real life was a whole different scenario. Especially if it was from his eccentric, over the top, boss. Jamison had a tendency to overshare and talk until he tired himself out. Roadhog was not looking forward to the idea of him rambling on about his mushy love life to him nonstop, and heaven forbid hearing about it if things got intimate. That was however if things even would work out for him. He shuddered at the thought of it.

But part of him was happy for Jamison. His boss was annoying beyond belief, yes, but he did care about him. When he met him in that bar, maniac wide-eyed and shaking, it was clear that he was too young to know what life was like before the explosion. 

The explosion took out 90% of Australia in blink of an eye; and all hopes of having a normal life washed away with it. Roadhog was partially to blame. He was a part of the extremists who destroyed the Omnium that caused the explosion; it wasn't the intension. And Jamison had no idea. 

Jamison would never have the chance to go to school, go to prom, graduate; no matter where he would end up in life, the Outback of would follow. But once they joined overwatch, Roadhog saw a glimmer of hope to get him somewhere close, which is what he wanted for him. 

"Ya gunna just stand there or go say hi?"

Jamison's head perked up and turned to Roadhog, "I-I dunno mate. She's...outta my league. I gotta cool down.."

He trotted toward the water grabbing his duck floaty and water wings along the way. 

"Are those floaties?" Zarya questioned. 

Roadhog sighed, "he can't swim."

\-----

Mei watched everyone from her blanket, breathing in the fresh summer air. The sounds of her friends laughing, chatting and carrying on gave her such a warm and calming feeling inside. It was great to be surrounded by the people she loved. The warmth itself was a treat. Ever since the incident, she had always felt cold. It was a mystery even Mercy couldn't explain. Laying out in the sun however helped, and she felt warmer now than ever. 

She laid on her stomach, and took in the sweet warmth as it ran up her back. Focusing on the way the sunlight felt on her muscles. Her whole body just relaxed completely, and she closed her eyes, embracing it. It was heavenly. As her eyes closed, the laughter of her friends started to fade away, leaving the steady sound of the waves crashing on the sand. 

So warm, so bright, so...cold...

oh god it was so cold! 

She felt shivers running up and down her whole body. Chills biting at her skin. 

When she opened her eyes she was trapped. In the same tube that trapped her for nine years. Her heart raced and she pounded her fists on the glass, screaming, but nothing came out no matter how hard she tried. 

The frosted windows looked out onto the ecopoint station, the dim lights eerily flickered on and off. It was empty and cold. So cold. 

The lights suddenly cut off completely, leaving her trapped in the dark. When they cut back on, the empty room was now filled with her ecopoint teammates; the ones who have died. All staring at her pod, their skin pale and blue, frosted with ice. 

She screamed as they shuffled closer to her, the lights flickering with every movement. Their dead eyes locked on her, soulness and cold. She wanted to yell out to them, but nothing came out. 

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry everyone! I can't! I'm sorry!" 

She pulled at her hair, tears streaming down her face. Ice started to form at her feet, climbing up her body. It froze her and burned her skin. She could hardly breath, hardly move, her friends started to pound on her pod. All she could seem to muster out was, "I'm so sorry."

"MEI!" 

Her eyes shot open, sweat dripped down her forehead. She was awake for real this time, but her skin strangely still burned. 

"It was just a dream..." she was so relieved. 

"Another bad dream?" Mercy was sitting beside her on the blanket, softly caressing Mei's hair. 

"Y-yeah. It never really goes away. How long was I out?"

"Quite a while." Mercys lips drew into a thin line. "Mei, when was the last time you put on sunscreen?"

"Sunscreen...?" 

She looked down at herself, her skin was as red as a lobster, and suddenly the burning feeling was starting to make more sense. Her entire back ached as she sat herself up on her knees. 

"Crickey, snowflake!" 

She looked up to see a concerned Jamison now leaning over her as well, dripping cold sea water on her skin. She hardly even recognized him at first in the new bright swimming getup and his hair tied back into a ponytail. The water must have washed off a majority of his soot after he was splashing around for a while. And we're those...freckles on his face? It was actually pretty cute. So cute that Mei had to quickly stop herself from staring at him in silence for so long. He however didn't notice.

"Ya gotta make sure to put on sunscreen! The suns terrible for ya skin!"

Everyone surrounding them held their breath anticipating a snappy comment from Mei back at him. 

"Y-yeah I must have forgot. It's been a while since I've been to the beach. Aiya, it stings..." 

Everyone let out their breath, happily surprised by the civil answer. 

"Well, I got somethin for that. After livin in the sun for so long I try to stay prepared." 

Mei smiled, "That would be nice thanks."

Junkrat turned to Mercy, perhaps getting her medical opinion "Is that ok Angelface?"

Mercy giggled, "Trying to take my job, Jamison?" 

Jamison flinched, immediately opening his mouth to explain he meant no offense, but Angela had already held up her hand to stop him.

"Yes that's perfectly fine, run along you two." She smiled sweetly.

The two made their way back to the house. Little did they know all eyes were secretly on them; everyone stared as the two walked together, it was like a night and day comparison after last night. A few whispered to one another in speculation. Roadhog however was silent, examining them in deep thought.

\---

Mei stood in front of her mirror once again examining herself. She twisted her body, gasping at the site her back. It was even redder under the artificial lighting of the house than it was outside. Some of the skin even started to peel on her shoulders. 

She gently shifted the bathing suit strap aside and lightly scratched at the skin. 

"Oi knock that off!" 

She jumped a little, not noticing Jamison had entered the room, now holding a large bottle of aloe Vera in his hand. 

"Got the good stuff. Use to slather this shit on everything. Won't heal it but will soothe the pain for sure. Made sure to keep it chilled in the fridge too."

Mei let out a sigh of relief, "Oh thank goodness, it's really starting to hurt."

She unconsciously was moving her hands back to the peeling skin. Jamison quickly stopped her, lightly grabbing her wrists and pushing it aside. 

"Whad I say!"

She bit her lip and shrugged, "Oops?"

"Oops!" he mocked her while examining the bottle and then looking at her burns. He bit his lip. "Ya...gunna need some help with this? I mean, puttin it on?" 

Mei stared blankly for a second before his question really hit her. He was right, she couldn't reach all the spots on her own. She needed help, and he was there, offering. She blushed deeply; it would require him to have to touch her. Really touch her. Her blush deepened even more; she didn't even realize she was taking a while to even respond. On the other hand he was becoming visibly more nervous. 

"C-cuz I can run and get Angelface for ya! O-or maybe Hana? Ya know, I wasn't tryin-"

"N-no no." She interrupted, "Its fine. I do need help, and you are already here...do you mind?"

It was pretty clear his whole mind completely shut down for a brief moment. His eyes widened and his face turned the same shade as her burns. After some time his eyes began to dart side to side in a nervous twitch. 

"S-sure! Nothin I can't handle!"

She gave him a sweet half smile and then proceeded to sit herself on her bed, facing her back toward him. He followed hesitantly, and rested himself on the bed directly behind her. 

The same feeling from last night occurred; even with her sunburns, she could still feel the intense heat radiating from his body just inches away from her. She could hear him starting to pour the aloe into his palms, along with a small and subtle gulp in the back of his throat.

"C-can ya please move the-"

"O-oh yes!" She slowly grasped the straps of her swimsuit and moved it down her shoulder some. He bit his lip, not prepared for the shock it would give his heart upon seeing that site. She then lifted her hair off her shoulders and neck, causing him to breath in sharply. He didn't expect such a simple task to be so hard; nor did he ever expect to see her like this. 

He hesitantly hovered his hands over her shoulders, and finally pressed them down on her skin, lightly massaging the aloe in. She let out a small gasp, that slowly turned into a tiny moan. It was more than he could take, he pressed his legs together tightly as he continued. 

Despite having sunburns, her skin felt slightly cold on the tips of his fingers; it was something he couldn't help but take notice of. It was so unique. He kept up a rhythm, massaging her shoulders and moving up to the back of her neck. He softly ran both his thumbs up to the edge of her hairline, and used his other fingers to caress the sides of her neck. She let out another soft moan. He bit his lip even tighter. That sound was cuter than he could have ever imagined. Not that he ever wanted to admit he imagined it from time to time. Thoughts began to dance around his head. Continuing the rhythm, he made his way down her back, pushing his fingers into the edge of her suit a polite amount to spread the aloe even further.

Her skin was so soft. He noticed her cheeks grow even rosier and that she too was biting on to her lip. She was so cute, so cold, so soft. He wished more than anything he could feel her in both of his hands, but at the same time didn't know if he could handle it. It felt so nice. 

Unfortunately as much as he wanted to the feeling couldn't last forever. He moved his hands away, not wanting to overstep or overstay. 

"A-all done, snowflake. Feel any bettah?"

She rolled her shoulders up and tucked her hair back down and behind her ears. "Y-yes thank you, Jamie."

Jamie. God she called him Jamie. Could she get any cuter, he thought. 

She turned to smile at him with dreamy eyes and rosey cheeks. Her hand still brushing against her own face as if she were being bashful. 

Oh yes she can. 

He stared at her completely hypnotized, until he realized how he may have looked to her. He panicked, scanning the room for anything to keep his mind off of things. Then he saw it, a single sheet of one of her research papers tucked under he pillow. He smirked. 

"Oh ho! What's this?" He reached across her and waved it in the air. 

"Ah! Oh no!"

"Oh no is right, Snow queen. Looks like I caught ya!" He winked. "Oh how the tables have turned! Gotta turn you in to the big boss now."

She became extremely flustered, hoisting herself up and down on her knees trying to snatch it back, "Give it back! I promise it was just one I missed while I was cleaning up! I wasn't studying I swear!"

"Likely story!" He snickered. He continued to dangle it right above her reach.

"Give it!" She jumped again, this time she lost her balance, sending her tumbling off the side. Jamison acted quickly, leaping for her and catching her head in his hand. 

When she opened her eyes she found on the ground, underneath of him. His eyes were large, staring down at her in. He was frozen still. 

One of his hands was still clasping the back of her head, the other was holding his body up. He could feel the soft strands of her hair tangling around his fingers. Her chest was heaving in her swimsuit; so tight and curvey. The red in her cheeks deepened.

She could see his freckles even more clearly now. A flicker of light danced in his amber eyes. He was warm. Even warmer than the sun. 

"Y-your skin...it's hot." She muttered without realizing. 

"Y-your skin it's..its cold. R-refreshing.." he uttered back. 

He felt himself moving in closer to her. Wanted to feel even closer. Wanting to taste her. 

A sharp series of knocks snapped them back to the real world. Mei immediately acted by clasping her hand tightly over Jamison's mouth. He was too in shock to protest. 

"Mei! Are you ok? Mercy told me about your skin! You need help?" Dva yelled, already starting to open the door.

"NO! HANA DONT COME IN! I-I'm um. I'm naked!" Mei yelled back. She quickly closed her eyes tightly at how stupid that may have sounded. Jamison raised an eyebrow at her dramatically.

But it worked. The door immediately slammed shut. 

"Oh shoot sorry! Uh. Are you ok though you seem flustered!"

"I'm fine! All good! Thanks!"

"Alright! Just checking! See you in a bit."

"Thanks Hana!"

She listened closely; shortly after she could hear that Hana was out of earshot.   
She had almost forgotten about her hand over Jamison's mouth until she felt something warm and wet against her palm.

Her face scrunched up as she shot her gaze right back at him. She saw him looking down at her, mouth hidden by her hand but eyes curved up in a devilish smile. She then connected the dots. 

"ICK JAMISON!" She pulled her hand away, wiping the spit off her palm. 

He cackled back at her. His tongue hung freely from his mouth. 

"Saw and opportunity and took it snowflake! I'm sucha go getter, aren't I?"

"Psh your somethin!"

"But ya like me anyways huh?"

She looked back up at him. Liked him? Was he flirting with her again? She didn't know what to say; these past couple of days have been a roller coaster of all types of emotions when it came to Jamison. There was something deep in her calling out, telling her to say yes. There was a part of her that wanted to pick back off where they left off. Were they even doing anything? What had just happened? What would've happened if Hana hadn't interrupted? All the thoughts danced around her head while the emotions tumbled in her stomach. 

Jamison realized what he had said and quickly brushed it off. "Well uh-" he hoisted himself off the ground, helping Mei up as well. "I bettah get goin, Roadie must be worried sick! B-big guy can't be without me for too long ya know!" 

He clumsily danced his way to the door, tripping on a rogue bag along the way. 

"I-I'll see ya in a bit?"

She tucked her hair back again, "y-yeah sounds great. See you."

He began to leave the room when Mei caught him again, "Jamison! Uhm. Thank you."

He stared at her for a second and then smiled sweetly. With a clear, smooth voice he answered, "You're welcome, Mei-ling."

And shut the door. 

Her heart was racing a million miles a minute. 

Oh my gosh, she thought, he said my name.


	4. Chapter 4

After a while of relaxing in her room, Mei's burns started to settle down some. She slipped into something more comfortable, putting on a large baggy t-shirt and some athletic shorts.   
Looking out the window she noticed the sun was finally setting for the day, and the beach had been cleared of her friends and their belongings. Curious to see what they may be up to, she made her way to the kitchen. 

There she found everyone gathered. They had all clearly taken showers to wash off the sand and seawater and were also wearing their comfy attire. 

The first thing that caught her attention upon walking in was hana downing two shots at once while Lucio and Brigette cheered her on. Everyone was already starting the night off right.

"Goodness, Seriously? Already?" Mei laughed.

Dva Slammed the shot glasses down, puffing her chest out with pride. Solider could be seen in the background, holding a single beer and shaking his head.

"Relax, Snowflake."Jamsion interjected from the other end of the kitchen island. He was leaning over it, finishing the last few sips of his own drink and sporting a baggy pair of sweat pants with no shirt. 

Mei gasped for a second upon seeing him. He had bathed! Like really bathed! The soot on his skin was completely washed off, and his hair was a brighter shade of blonde than she was use to seeing. 

"Its a vacation" He raised his glass, "Aint ya suppose to do stuff like this on them? I dunno. It's what they do in the films right? Nevah really done this before meself."

She just kept staring at him in shock, "You're...clean!"

His face went red as he downed the rest of his drink and went to set the glass in the sink, "Y-Yeah what about it? Strike Commanda wouldn't get off my ass. Said I had to wash up all nice after bein out today."

"You look nice." She said sweetly. "You're hair is a pretty color too."

She winced hearing herself out loud; it sounded so cheesey.

He blushed even more, coughing nervously. She already had him feeling on edge due to the events of earlier. Everything that she did was so cute, and due to the amount of drinks he had already downed, he was nervous about blurting out the words dancing around his mind rather than holding them in. He was known for doing that. Didn't want to risk it. Didn't want to push her away again.

He shuffled his way to the cabinet, trying to distract himself. 

"S-Say where do ya guys keep the mixers? I bet I can make ya one of me specialtie-" He opened the cabinet to find a single bottle of beer sitting alone amongs the snacks. "Did ya mean to put this here?" He took it out and examined it. 

"YOOO!" Dva ran up to him, pointing and laughing. The others joined in, mixed with a melody of 'oooo's and 'Oh nooo's. 

"Huh? What? Am I missing something?" Jamison darted his head around in confusion. 

"You've been Iced, Rat!" Hana said as she caught her breath.

"Iced?"

"It's a prank! Rule says if you find a lone Smirnoff Ice at a party, ya gotta down the whole thing in one go! Its so nasty! hahhaha!"

He narrowed his eyes, "Whad ya mean, nasty?"

"Its a notoriously bad drink. Try not to hurl!" 

Mei stood by the fridge giggling into her hand.

"Ya knew about this, Ice Queen?!" Jamison clasped on to his heart, "I've been betrayed!"

"Oh calm down! You'll be fine!" She opened the fridge to get herself a drink, "Don't be such a bab-"

She paused and her expression fell flat. Sitting in the fridge right in her line of site was a Smirnoff Ice. Stationed perfectly by itself. 

Everyone else erupted into laughter. Mercy raised her hand slowly, "I put that one there myself! hehe!".

Mei's face scrunched up in disgust as she lifted the bottle with two fingers, as if it were hazardous waste. She looked back over to Jamison who was leaning on the counter with his head rested in his palm, smirking at her.

"Dont be sucha baby now." He joked. 

"Oh shut up" She shot back. He stuck out his tounge and giggled childishly at her. 

"Ok you two get over here and face your fate!" Dva ordered, taking out her camera for pictures. "Take a knee and face each other! Whoever finishes first wins!"

"Ohh so this is a competition now?" Jamison smirked as he walked with Mei to their places and took a knee. "Sounds like fun."

"Pshh Please." Mei smiled back, taking a knee in front of him, "I've been to college; It's definitely not my first time."

"College huh?" Jamison smirked, "I wouldve loved to see you get wild, snowflake."

He tensed up a little, so much for not blurting stuff out. But she just smirked right back at him, showing she wasn't going to back down.

"I bet you would." 

His heart practically lept out of his chest. 

"Alright! On your marks!" Dva started. Everyone glathered around to watch. 

"Get set!" She steadied her camera phone to get a few shots. Jamison and Mei touched the glasses to their lips. "GO!"

Just like that they were off, Tilting their bottles up to the sky and downing as much as they could. Jamison tried to open the back of his throat to let it wash down, but the taste was so overwhelming. The carbonated sugary liquid coated his taste buds, practically numbing them. He clenched his eyes shut tightly, letting a small noise of distress gargle in the back of his throat. Nonetheless, he persisted.

Mei seemed to be struggling as well. Her eyes were also shut tightly. The carbonation tickled the back of her nose, almost causing her to stop and cough it up. Their teammates could see their struggle, laughing to themselves at their demise. 

Jamison felt the last of his drink touch the back of his throat. He slammed the bottle on the ground and stood up, wobbling a bit trying to regain his balance. The drink shot directly to his brain. He shook his head and held his fist up in victory, trying not to throw it back up. The whole crowd up-roared, cheering his name. Thank goodness there were no neighbors to disturb. Even Soldier was taking part in the celebration. 

Mei gasped, pulling the bottle away from her lips. She looked up at Jamison in shock.

"No way!" She coughed.

Jamison smiled down at her, basking in his victory. "All hail King Jamison the First!" He giggled. "So. Whad I win?"

"How bout this?" Dva said as she typed away on her phone. Jamison's phone pinged shortly after. He didn't carry it around much since Overwatch issued it to him, but he tried to make a habit of it more after being scolded by Solider for it.

He pulled out his cell and opened it to see a close up picture of Mei; She could be seen chugging her Smirnoff in an unsavory fashion. It wasn't a flattering picture at all. Jamison couldn't help but blush a little after letting out a hardy laugh. Even if it wasn't a flattering moment, she always looked so cute. It was his first pic of her he owned, he would treasure it. 

Mei looked over his shoulder to see, her jaw dropped, "NO FAIR!"

He quickly shoved his phone back in his pocket to prevent her from trying to delete it. "It is too Snowflake! I won fair and square!" He smiled and turned his nose up to the sky.

She crossed her arms, rolling her eyes, and then smiled softly, "Good game I guess. Well played." 

He blushed, "Y-yeah. You too."

Roadhog watched from the background, sipping a beer through a straw wedged under his mask. He watched as everyone gathered around Jamison, playfully putting their arms around his shoulder and congratulating him. Jamison's smile was so genuine; he hate to admit it, but it made Roadhog feel very grateful. 

\---

The night carried on, everyone continued to drink, laugh, and have a good time. Mei enjoyed this night a lot better than she had last night. She felt more relaxed and comfortable around everyone. She would have never thought that she would eventually be sharing drinks with the messy Junker recruit, but her and Jamison were passing eachother beers and laughing at one another's jokes. Everyone couldnt really seem to keep their eyes off of those two while this was happening. It was so strange seeing them one minute at eachother's throats and the next giggling like children. It was definitly a shock but also kind of refreshing. 

They ended back out on the screened in porch for another game to go with their drinks. 

"Truth! or DARE!" Dva shouted dramatically, placing a empty bottle in the middle of their circle. In the circle sat Dva, Lucio, Mei, Jamison, Mccree, Genji and Lena. All giggling at the idea of taking part in such a childish and embaressing game, but all in good fun. 

"A classic!" Lucio hiccuped. Dva pointed at him winking, perhaps reminding him of a previous time they took part in the game together. Lucio's mouth went comically thin and his face turned red. 

Jamison had never played Truth or Dare before. He had seen it in the movies but never really knew that people actually did it in real life. It made him excited, but also somewhat scared. What if they made him do or admit something he wasn't comfortable with. 

What if it's a plot to get your treasure? The voice in his head knawed at his brain. 

He quickly shot that thought down. It has been hard for him, he can definitly admit, getting adjusted to a life where everyone wasn't constantly trying to kill you. Every once in a while the anxiety would eat at him again, but then he would look around and put himself back in the moment. "You have to trust us", Meis words rang in his mind, overpowering the bad thoughts. And he felt at peace again.   
He smiled, vibrating excitedly in his spot. Something caught his attention; out of the corner of his eye he saw Roadhog making his way from the kitchen to the couch with a beer. He flagged him down immediatly, peeking everyone's intrest.

"HOG! Come join us, will ya!? No need ta be alone, mate!" 

Hog stopped in his tracks and scanned the group. Jamison sat waving at him frantically with his goofy smile plastered on his face, but the rest of the group only gave half smiles or no looks at all.   
Everyone tried their best to welcome the Junkers with open arms into Overwatch, but everyone didn't want to admit to themselves that Roadhog still frightened them a bit. Perhaps it was because they never saw his face and had a hard time making a human connection, or maybe because they knew all of the things he had done in the past, and how they were atleast a hundred times worse than anything Jamison could ever do. Or maybe it was a little bit of A and a little bit of B. Either way, he didn't like their fear. He didn't like that he was causing it. 

He tried to excuse himself, taking a step away without saying a word but Jamison was already at his arm, dragging him to the circle. He was a hard man to negotiate with, Jamison. Probably because he   
didn't negotiate at all. He just saw what he liked and took it. 

Atleast Jamison liked him, that's all that really mattered in the end. 

Jamie sat down, plopping Roadhog right next to him. Everyone gave hollow smiles, greeting him politely; it made his stomach turn. He just returned the greetings with a small nod. 

"Alrighty! I'll spin first!" Dva jumped in place, reaching for the bottle.

"Heyyyy! Why do you get to go first?" Lucio drunkenly whined.

"Fine. You can go, ya big crybaby." She frowned.

Lucio smiled, as he reached for the bottle and gave it a sharp spin. It spun and spun, passing each player as they all eagerly awaited it's victim. Then, it stopped. Pointing straight at Roadhog. Everyone fell silent. Except Jamison. 

"OOO ROADIE! Ya win!" He cheered. 

"No Jamie!" Dva giggled nervously, "He got chosen to pick truth or dare!"

"Oh, well what's it gunna be, mate?"

Roadhog sat in silence, contemplating, "...Truth."

Jamie's eyes lit up with excitement, "OOOOHH! Juicy! What secrets are ya hidin in there big guy!"

"Hmm let's see.." Lucio thought to himself trying to think up a question on the spot; it was clear to everyone he wasn't prepared at all. "What's your...favorite possession?"

Roadhog tensed up, ".....big secret." he muttered in a low, deep voice.

Everyone fell silent. Lucio began to sweat. Was that not the right question? They wanted nothing to do with making the big monstrous hog angry. What if that was enough to set him off? The group began to shake in their place, preparing for the worst. He took his giant hand and reached behind his back and into his pocket. They gulped. What if it was something terrifying they were not prepared to see. Lucio tensed up and held his breath, as Roadhog grabbed on to his possession and pulled his arm around to reveal...

a soft, smiling Pachimari plushie. 

Everyone's eyes went wide. Roadhog sat in their silence, almost getting nervous himself. He didn't want anyone to judge him for his silly toy, but it was his prized possession, and he was in fact telling the truth. Behind his mask his eyes darted nervously from side to side, awaiting everyone's reaction.

Suddenly the whole group broke out into a melody of 'awwww's. Dva and Lena leaned forward to get a closer look, their faces shining with a big smile.

"Its so cute!" Lena cooed.

"I would've never guessed it Roadhog! That's so adorable!" Dva joined in.

Roadhog's face went red behind his mask. He very rarely gave two shits about what anyone thought of him, but there was something about their reactions that made him feel happy inside. They all began to make theirselves comfortable around that after that big reveal. 

Jamison was not pleased, "Man, I was hopin for a huge secret! I could've told ya that one!"

Roadhog just let out a low grunt. 

The game continued, and so did the drinking. Shots were passed around every once in a while and everyone was really starting to feel it. Esspecially Dva. She kept sluring her words and kept suggesting crazier and crazier truths and dares by the second. It didn't stop anyone from playing though. Things were getting very comfortable. Too comfortable. 

Jamison started to get nervous. This level of comfort around others was not something he was particularly use to. Suddenly it was Dva's turn to spin again. Everyone took another gulp of their drinks in preparation for what she may have in mind. 

The bottle spun and spun and landed on Mccree. Who in return tipped his hat, and winked at her in a playful manner. She smirked at him, face flushed red. 

"Truth or Dare, space cowboy?" she slurred.

"How bout a dare. I'm feelin lucky."

"How bout this?" She rubbed her hands together, "I dare you to kiss someone in this room."

Everyone broke out in laughter mixed with gasps. Mccree eyed Dva suspiciously, letting out a few beats of nervous laughter as he took a long draw of his cigar. 

"A kiss huh? Think I can handle that. Anyone here?"

"Anyone you like!" Dva waved her arm over the small crowd as if to present his options.

The group sat, shaking with a mix of excitement and anxiety. It was all for fun clearly, but nobody had ever been kissed by Mccree before. He was admittedly handsome so nobody would really mind, well accept for Lena, she was happily taken. The adrenaline rushed through everyone's bodies as he scanned the group trying to pick his target. They he locked eyes on her. 

Slowly he got on all fours, causing a lot of the group to squeal with excitement. He crawled over to Mei, who was staring at him in shock. He reached out and lightly grabbed her chin, looking down at her with dreamy eyes. 

Jamison watched, wide-eyed with fear. His whole body tensed up, unable to move or speak. There was something about it, the tall, tan and handsome cowboy looking down at her, holding her, preparing to taste her. He began to play back the memory from earlier in his head, how close he was himself to her; how close he was to kissing her. He clenched his fists tightly. 

Mccree tipped his hat politely to her, "M'mam."

And he moved in, slowly placing his lips on hers and then slowly parting them. She brought her hand up to her plump lips and gave him a nervous giggle in return. 

Jamison had felt pain before. He had lost limbs, roasted in the sun, felt starvation and torture. He was no stranger to pain in the very least. But there was something about this kind of pain that didn't settle with him well. He had never felt this feeling before. He didn't like it; it couldn't easily be shaken off or ignored. It was a pain that dug itself deep inside him and played with his emotions. He hated this feeling. It made him sad. It made him anxious. It made him angry. 

He hated that he saw everything. He hated the way Mcree kissed her. And he especially hated the way she made a nervous little giggle after the fact. It made him want to punch the pretty cowboy right in his pretty face. It made him want to burn the whole place to the ground and run away into the night. But I'm what grounds did he have the right to do something like that? Well he wanted to of course. That's all that mattered, right? No, Mei would get mad if he did that. He couldn't just punch another person for kissing her; it wasn't his choice. She wasn't his. 

She wasn't his. 

His stomach turned into a billion different knots. He wanted to throw up; maybe it would help wash the feeling out of his body. No, it dug itself too deep, there was no getting rid of this. 

He wanted to run away. But didn't want to draw attention. He didn't want anyone looking at him when he felt vulnerable. He never wanted to let his guard down around anyone. That's when they get ya. 

And now he felt more vulnerable than ever. 

He waited a few turns, anxiously shaking in his spot and chewing on his bottle. 

Mei had already let the kiss go. She really thought nothing of it. She had been kissed before, and it was clearly just a game. Mcree even politely asked if she was ok afterwords, reassuring her he meant nothing serious behind it. She laughed at the idea it would've been anything more and nodded yes. It was just for fun, and that was that. 

After a while Jamison stood up awkwardly, causing everyone to pause. He opened his mouth to talk, nothing came out for a brief moment upon seeing everyone's eyes on him. 

"I-I'm gunna go get some fresh air. Don't wait for me or anythin." He squeaked. And before they could even get a word in, he darted out of the room. 

Roadhog watched knowing very well what was going on in Jamison's head, he always did. Just from being around him so much he almost knew Jamison better than Jamison knew himself. He let out an exhausted sigh and began to pick himself up to go after him when he noticed Mei already on her feet and at the doorway.

"I'm gunna go check on him. He seemed kinda upset for some reason." She gave everyone a worried look as they all agreed and watched as she left. 

Roadhog was hesitant at first, but he allowed it. Maybe it would be best for his boss to be comforted by her; not to mention it would allow Jamison to open up to someone other than him. He liked the idea of Jamie opening up and feeling comfortable around others. Maybe then he wouldn't talk his ear off as much. 

"She's so sweet..." Hana whispered watching Mei leave the house. 

"...yeah." Roadhog agreed.

That moment quickly passed as it came and Hana was already twirling the bottle again. The night carried on. 

\----

Mei rushed out the front door and looked out over the beach. The sun was down and the moon stood high in the sky, reflecting off the rippling ocean beneath it. She scanned the beach and took notice of a silhouette kicking up shells a little down the shoreline. 

"Jamison!" She yelled, scrambling down the stairs and stumbling through the sand toward him. "Jamie!"

Jamison stopped in his tracks, shocked to see Mei even came after him. A little feeling of happiness danced inside him knowing she took the effort, but his smile immediately faded. The jealousy ate that happiness up quickly. 

She was out of breath by the time she made it to him. 

"Jamison." She painted, "are you alright?"

He stared down at her for a bit, contemplating.

"Yeah." He answered, turning to make his way down the beach again, "I'm fine. Just...busy."

She adjusted her glasses, looking at him suspiciously. He was clearly not ok. 

"Busy with what? There's nothing here!"

"Busy with uh..." his gaze darted across the sands searching for an excuse. Then he saw it. "Ghost huntin."

Mei's face contorted in confusion. What in the heck was he talking about? 

"Ghost hunting." She echoed flatly. 

"Yeah. Ghost huntin."

"You are...hunting ghosts. By yourself. At the beach..."

"Yeah. That's what I said, right?"

He pointed at the sands. Mei adjusted her glasses again and squinted her eyes. It just looked like regular old sand.

"I don't-"

"Look harder." He interrupted. 

She knelt down closer to the ground, continuing to search. She uttered a small gasp upon seeing it. A tiny, translucent crab waddled its way out of a small hole in the sand and scurried over into the waves. Mei's lips turned into a smile, it was so cute! 

"Whad I tell ya," Jamie said, pushing his way past her and continuing on his path, "ghost hunting." 

"Wow they are so cu-" she stopped mid sentence upon noticing Jamison's demeanor. He wasn't excited what so ever. She half expected him to be over the moon over seeing one, maybe even the presenting the dark suggestion of catching them and having a ghost crab baroque. But nothing. He just kept walking in silence. 

"Jamie what's wrong?" 

"Nothin is wrong why do ya keep askin?"

"Because something is clearly bothering you and I want to help."

"Nothin to help, snowflake. Nothin's eatin at me. Honest."

"No, not honest."

"I am being honest."

"No you aren't."

He started to become visibly irritated, "For gods sake woman seriously nothing is wrong!"

"Why won't you let me-"

He turned on his heel, staring her down with a deep scowl. 

"Cuz nothins bugging me!!" 

She looked back at him, eyes big and lips pushed into a small frown. Oh no, he yelled, he didn't mean to yell. They are both so unstable. The drinks, the emotions. He immediately regretted it, turning around again and walking away faster. 

She still trotted behind. 

"Go back, snowflake."

"I don't feel right leaving you alone."

"Maybe I wanna be alone."

"Do you though?"

He didn't answer.

They continued their way down the shoreline, the vacation house was growing smaller and smaller in the distance. Tiny ghost grabs darted their way to the shore, scrambling around Jamison's boot as he continued unwaveringly. Mei danced around their paths, making sure not to hurt them. She was courteous like that, even to little creatures like crabs. Jamison admired that about her; she was kinder to all things than he could ever wish to be.  
She was out of his league. The jealousy ate at him, causing the back of his head to feel sore. He wanted to be around her, all the time, but right now he just really didn't know what to feel. He hated to admit that part of him couldn't stand to be around her, just because it hurt him even more. 

It caused him to remain silent. He didn't know what to feel. What he was feeling. What to say. He just wanted to lose himself and hope things would just work themselves out.

"W-what in the-" Mei finally broke the silence. 

He turned to see her staring off into the distance. He followed her gaze, leading his line of site to the cliffs at the edge of the beach. At the top of the cliff was a small, dark cave leading inside the caverns of the rock formation. In front of the caves opening, there was a small neon purple light, dancing in the darkness. He squinted his eyes, it looked almost like a figure.

"What is that?" Mei said again.

Jamison didn't respond, his curiosity got the better of him, and before he knew it his legs were already guiding him to the cliff side. 

"Jamison!" Mei followed him hesitantly. 

\---

 

He wasn't sure why he was so eager to see what it was. He just followed his insincts sometimes with no regard as to where he would end up. It wasn't always a good thing, sometimes it got him into serious trouble. Having Roadhog around was helpful; he acted as Jamison's impulse control. But Roadhog wasn't there, and Mei wasn't doing the best of jobs at stopping him. 

He was hiking up the narrow man-made path leading up the cliff side, Mei continued to shuffle behind him. 

"Jamison please wait up!"

They finally reached the mouth of the cave, nothing was there. He caught his breath glancing around, searching the area for any shiney objects. 

Mei finally caught up. She bent her knees panting from the climb she was clearly not prepared for. 

"What...was that all about?" She gasped, "You can't just-"

Jamison quickly grabbed her hand and pushed her behind a large rock at the mouth of the cave. 

"What are you?!-"

She tried to protest but he was already kneeling next to her, close to the ground, with his hands clasped around her mouth. 

She squirmed in his grasp but his grip only got tighter. He looked intense, staring out beyond the cave. She shifted herself in his grasp to see what he was staring so intently at. Behind the side of the cave stood a young Latina woman, conversing in to what seemed to be someone speaking in her earpiece. She had glowing purple hair and outfit, which quickly explained the dancing lights they saw on the cliff. Mei tensed up, something definitely didn't feel right. What was this woman doing up here, alone?

"I seen her before." Jamison whispered, not taking his eyes off the strange mystery woman. "She's talon."

Meis heart jumped out of her chest. Here they were alone, on cliffs edge, unarmed, buzzed and with a talon agent. What was a talon agent even doing here? The answer was obvious. Talon had been a number one enemy of Overwatch for as long as Mei could remember; a talon agent being at the same beach as the whole overwatch team was no accident. They were plotting something huge. 

Mei finally broke free of Jamison's grasp.

"How do you know she's talon?"

"Gave me an offer once back in Dorado. I refused. We ain't on the best of terms I reckon." 

Mei leaned herself closer in the woman's direction hoping to catch a few words from her conversation.

"Oh they're here alright," the woman said sassily as she examined her gun. "All of them actually, even your precious Jack Morrison. Seems like a good opportunity to strike. How long are you going to keep me waiting?"

Mei darted behind the rock, pressing her body up against the wall of the cave. Panic started to settle in as she realized how they were in real danger. Danger they were not prepared for.

"This is bad this is really bad! We need to warn the others!" She whispered frantically.

"Can't exactly move at the moment, ice queen. Unless you wanna get found out."

She lightly punched his arm in frustration, "Why did you lead us here! Now we are stuck!"

He got defensive, "We would've never found out about it if I hadn't so I think ya owe me a thank you!"

"Oh whatever! Do you have your phone? We need to get ahold of someone now!"

He rolled his eyes and patted his pockets. Suddenly his face wore an expression that pretty much implied the answer. Mei bit her lip, trying to hold back her anger and frustration. 

He shrugged, "hehe. Oops? Must of left it with the others."

"Oh my god Jamison."

"Well whad about you where's yours?!"

"I didn't think to bring it when I was chasing after you! Ya know when I was trying to help you and you rudely declined my help!"

"Oh wow I thought we were over this snowflake! Back to blaming me now-"

"Dios mio, are you two done yet?" A new voice interjected. 

Mei and Junkrat froze in their spot, looking up to see the mystery woman now standing directly in front of them, clearly not amused. Her gun was pointed right at them with her finger hovering over the trigger. 

"Ah. If it isn't miss Ecopoint Antarctica Dropout and the Dirty Australian TrashMouse. Nice to see you again by the way."

"It's Junkrat." Jamison corrected through gritted teeth.

"Lo que sea. Anyways, never expected to see you two together, so close. Opposites attract I guess." 

Jamison and Mei quickly shuffled a bit away from one another and got back into defensive positions. 

"What are you doing here?" Mei demanded.

"Uhh what about you? what are you doing here?" She shot back.

"That's none of your business!"

The woman chuckled, "Honey, getting in other people's business IS my business. And it's booming. Not super keen when other people try to snoop into mine though. I'm kinda hypocritical like that." She winked as she pressed her gun closer to them. "Now get on your feet." 

Jamison and Mei were clearly in no position to refuse. They slowly got to their feet and backed away a few feet. The woman smiled slyly, taking a step closer, causing Jamison and Mei to step back even further. Before they knew it they were in the cave, completely helpless and unarmed. 

"Lets see. Don't want any interruptions in our plans; I absolutely hate rescheduling. I wonder...how long do you think it will take for them two find the bodies of a washed up scientist who couldn't even save her own team and a...well...wow where do I even start with you." She tapped her long purple nail on her chin sarcastically.

Jamison shifted his arm in front of Mei, pushing her behind him slightly. His eyes on fire with intense rage.

"It's one thing to mess with me but you leave her out of this." He threatened.

Mei hated to admit that even in their moment of danger those words made her heart skip. Jamison putting her before himself, even when trust wasn't something that came easy to him; well, it was hardly the time to think about this now. 

The woman just laughed at his efforts, "aww Que dolce'. Too bad literally none of that matters to me and I'm still going to end you both!" She readied her gun, causing Mei to jump. "Wonder how long it will take them to even know you are gone."

Mei held her breath. It all happened so fast. One moment she was preparing for death, the next she saw he look on the woman's face take a complete turn. The woman was suddenly shocked. But why?

She looked down to see the source. In Jamison's palm was one of his grenades. He must have carried it around out of habit. Mei looked at the explosive in his palm and then the rock formation around them, and connected the two. 

"JAMIE NO!" 

She tried to stop him but it was too late. He tossed the bomb in the woman's direction. It clanked on the ground in front of her, ticking with a quickening rhythm.   
Right before it set off the woman shot him and angry glare and shot a few rounds in their direction. He dove and caught Mei, bringing the both of them to the ground. He turned to face the woman again but she had vanished. A millisecond later the bomb went off, rocking the cave walls and causing the ceiling at the mouth of the cave to collapse in. 

The sound was loud, long and deafening. Suddenly, everything went dark.


	5. Chapter 5

When Mei opened her eyes, she couldn't see a thing. She attempted to wave he hand in front of her face, but still, nothing. 

"They just need time to adjust to the darkness." She thought to herself. 

It was so dark. They were completely trapped.

The fallen rocks at the cave's mouth were so tightly compacted together that not even a little bit of moonlight could seep through. 

She sighed to herself in frustration. Her friends were in danger, and she had no way of getting to them or contacting them. She wanted to scream she was so frustrated and scared. What if they never make it out. She shook her head, letting that thought pass completely, and put herself into survival mode. They had to make it out. They were going to. 

She pressed her ear up against the fallen rocks to make an attempt to hear people passing by, but any attempt to was immediately overpowered by the sound of sharp, fast breaths. A small whimper echoed next to her. She suddenly realized the source. 

"Jamie! Are you ok?" She became frantic trying to make her way to him in the darkness.

"I-I'm fine snowflake I'm fine!" He stuttered, his voice shaking with every word. "M-Mei where are you?"

She crawled forward a little more, stopping when she felt the familiar body heat radiating off of him. Reaching out she poked his knee, he jumped with a startled yelp. 

"It's me! I'm here!"

"O-oh. R-really gave me a frighten, ya did."

"Are you alright?"

He fell silent, aside from continuing to hyperventilate to himself as quietly as he could. 

Meis lip drew into a thin like. She didn't like that he was feeling this way, and wanted to help so badly, but they needed to find a way out.

"We need to keep moving. The cave echoes for a while when you speak, which means it continues on. There may be an exit if we keep moving forward."

"C-can we just try and dig ourselves out! I-I may not have any more bombs on me but I'm sure with some elbow grease we can-"

"No Jamison. It will take too long. The rocks are way too large there's no way we can do that on our own. We need to keep moving."

"C-can we wait till day time? It might get brighter!"

"Our team is in danger we need to get to them now..."

She heard Jamie shuffle into a fetal position, it was clear he didn't like that option. 

"I-I ain't a huge fan of the dark, love. Don't like it one bit. I'm not too keen on this plan."

"You're...scared?"

He paused. The dark was always something that sent him into a panic. When night fell over the outback, Jamison was always quick to set up camp and a fire. Hog always attributed this to Jamie taking advantage of any excuse to bring a fire to life, but after a while of being together the reasoning became clear. The dark was all consuming; and you never know what could be lurking in it that wants to get its hands on you. 

It was one thing to keep your fear deep inside where nobody could see; that way they couldn't get the upper hand on you. For Jamison to admit he was scared, to someone else, that scared him even more. But it was Mei he would be admitting to. She was kind, selfless and understanding. She was different.

"Y-yeah." 

"H-hey that's ok!" Mei spoke up, "To be honest I'm a little scared too..."

"R-really?" Jamie perked up bit.

"Yeah, of course, is that hard to believe?"

"W-well sorta."

Mei blinked with confusion, "Why?"

"I-I've seen ya in battle, you are pretty fearless and tough. Wielding that ice maker thingy, the determined look on your face, the way you shoot sharp icicles at bad guys without a second thought. It's pretty badass." 

Mei had to sit and process those words for a second. It wasn't often that people actually admired her bravery in battle. People actually tended not to pay much mind to it; not that it made her upset or anything, she just had a soft and kind demeanor that tended to outweigh all of the "badass" things she did. It felt nice to be acknowledged in that respect. She did try hard to face her fears in battle to protect what she cared for, and the fact that someone noticed made her feel just a bit more confident. Especially from someone like Jamie, who always came across as someone who didn't have a fear in the world to her. But perhaps sometimes that's not always the case. It's ok to be scared. 

She smiled, subconsciously puffing out her chest a bit with pride, "hehe Why thank you. I do try hard to fight for what's right, but, even then I'm honestly still a little scared."

"Y-ya sure don't look it."

"You see...I love my friends. I love Overwatch with all my heart. I guess the reason I get like that in battle is because if anything happened to any of them I would be so heartbroken." She held her hand to her heart, squeezing her shirt. "I put on a brave front to hide those fears as well as protect my friends. And right now...they are in trouble...and I'm...stuck. That's why, I have to be brave and keep moving forward even though I'm scared. For them."

It was a concept that Jamie never really understood before. He protected Hog from time to time but never really put those feelings into words or gave it a second thought. There was something about listening to Mei's feelings that made him want to be brave too. If it wasn't so dark he could probably see the sparkle in Her eyes. 

There was beauty in caring in something so much with all of your heart, and not that he wanted to admit it, but he wished he could feel that too. After a long time of living each day to survive, there was no room for that. But Mei inspired him more than she would ever know. Even before she started to give him a chance, she inspired him. There was something about her that stuck out above every one else. And when she spoke about things she was passionate about, even just a little bit, it was enough to drive him to be the best he could be. He loved that about her. 

"I-I think I could be brave too..." he spoke up, shuffling further into his fetal position. 

"Of course you can!"

"Even now I guess...That spunky Sheila, Dva...and Lucio..they are always pretty good to me, never steered me wrong. Nan is always watching over me and puttin up with my shit more than anyone...Angelface patches me up when I get too wild. I trust Hog to take care of himself, he's the toughest son of a bitch out there. But...if everyone else is in a tough spot...I want them to be prepared for the storm. I think I can be brave for them."

"That's great, Jamie!"

"And you..."

"And me..?" Mei became perplexed. 

"Yeah...would be real torn if something happened to ya...I wanna be brave for ya too."

"Torn? Over me?" Mei squeaked, becoming flustered. Her tone made Jamie chuckle a lightly.

"Yeah, snowflake. Whys that so shockin?"

"S-still getting use to things I guess." She blushed as she fiddled with her hands in her lap. "Just...you know...I misjudged you...and...mistreated you.."

His laughter interrupted her, "Ain't no misjudging from you, snowflake. I'm notta gold star solider or anythin. And the mistreatin me thing...I-it's water under the bridge. It's been nice...being able to spend time with ya." 

"I-it has been nice..." her cheeks reddened, "but..."

"But?"

"Well..when I convinced myself to go on this vacation..." she scanned the darkness, "this really wasn't what I had in mind."

"Y-yeah.." his breath suddenly started to become shakey again.

Mei realized what she said may have drawn his attention back to his fears, and quickly scrambled in her words.

"U-uhm" She stuttered, "it's ok Jamison! L-like you said, we can be brave."

"I-it's so dark though, I-I can't see a thing. What if we get separated or somethin. What if somethin's in there waitin for a bite.."

Mei sat and thought for a moment, then got an idea. She reached her hand over, feeling in the darkness for him. Eventually she found him, lightly placing her fingertips on his arm, which caused him to jump a little. His trembling slowly came to a stop as she ran her hand down his arm, finally resting her hand on his.

"I won't let us get separated, Jamie. Please trust me." She assured him. Slowly intertwining their fingers and pressing their palms together tightly. 

Jamie's eyes went wide...his mind went wild and blank all at the same time. Skin touching skin...the softness was like no other feeling he had ever felt before. Her fingers wrapped around his as if she were pleading him to stay close. Stay close to her. He didn't know what to do; It was a simple gesture but it felt so unreal. It felt like a dream. He gripped back, assuring her too that he wanted her to be close. She didn't resist, in fact she gave him a small grip back. He gulped, staring down at their hands intertwined beside him, his face glowing red. Glowing. 

Wait a minute. 

He looked up and saw Mei, shielding her eyes with her arm, with a warm light dancing off her skin. 

Light? He could see her? But how- 

She drew her arm away from her eyes and stared back at him in both shock and amazement. 

"J-Jamie...your hair! It's-!" She pointed to the top of his head.

Instinctively, he reached his free mechanical hand up to his head. As his hand got closer to his hair, he noticed the light that lit up the cave grew dimmer. He pulled away. 

"-The tips of your hair! They are on fire!" 

\----

 

His face grew even redder. He looked down at their hands that were tightly wrapped together, and realized the source of his flaming hair. His heart rate increased. It was all just too much to handle.

"E-er well uhm." He chuckled nervously trying to play things cool, "What can I say!? All that radiation must be good for somethin! Uh. Look! We can see now! Pretty neat huh, snowflake?" 

He chuckled even more wildly as she stared at him, jaw dropped.

Finally she cleared her throat, "T-that doesn't hurt you?"

"Notta bit!"

She adjusted her glasses, moving even closer to him to examine and analyze his glowing hair. His laughing subsided into a small nervous chuckle as he kept a close eye on her, watching for any reaction. 

"All of this was caused by the radiation that took over Australia's ecosystem after the explosion?"

"Y-yeah I guess!" His eyes darted nervously. She was even closer now; leaning over him and using her free hand to lightly hover over the flame. She smelt so nice; he gripped her hand as he tried to keep calm. She didn't notice.

"How long did you live in such an environment?" 

"Who's to say? Uhhh w-well Angelface said I was around 25 when she examined me so uhhh...21 years maybe?" He gulped. "D-don't uh, don't quote me on that one, snowflake."

She backed away, still in shock. He stared back at her, biting his lip and anticipating her response. She may have been able to handle his crazy antics up to this point; but if there was anything that could scare a pretty girl off, it was probably hair spontaneously catching on fire. 

"Thats..." she spoke up, "Incredible!"

He blinked, letting out his held breath. "In-uh...incredible?"

"Yes! To think that radiation could have such an effect on the human body without hurting you! That's so interesting! I would love to conduct some experiments! Maybe even visit Australia to gather some valuable data! You have to take me! Oh my gosh!" She balled her free fist with determination, geeking out over a possible scientific breakthrough. "I wonder what effect it would have on the vegetation! And weather patterns! I must find out!"

"Dammit." Jamison thought to himself as he vibrated in place, face burning red, "she's so cute!"

"What could have caused it I wonder..." she questioned, scanning the cave as she was in deep though. 

"Crap!" Jamison thought. He knew what caused it immediately. It was when she held his hand. He was so flustered and got himself so worked up that it must have caused his hair to spark. He bit his lip again; he didn't want Mei to catch on or notice his flattery, but she was smart. She was sure to know. She was bound to find out. 

He nervously watched her as she looked down at their hands intertwined. Her eyes widened as if she fingered it out.

"CRAP." He thought again as he trembled nervously, biting his lip even harder.

"Oh! Our hands! It must have been when I held your hand!" Mei announced.

Jamison quickly scrambled to his defense, "L-look snowflake. Don't get any ideas or anythin! I- we- ya know. It happened and I- and we- and i was-"

She completely bypassed his excuses. "My skin! It's so much colder that a regular person! Due to being cryogenically frozen! The chill from my skin must have shocked your body! Which must have caused your hair to catch fire!" 

Jamison's face went completely blank. Was that really her conclusion? 

It took ever tiny ounce of impulse control he had left in him to not completely call her out on how gullible she was. It was a good thing, right? That she didn't call him out on being completely star struck over his first time of holding a girl's hand? Let alone a beautiful girl like Mei? That's what he wanted right? But god it was so obvious how could she not tell? 

Is she that oblivious to how cute she is that she wouldn't think someone like her could ever cause something like that? He was biting his tongue hard trying not to just scream it out to her. It's you! It's because you held my hand! It's because deep down I feel like a giddy school boy who gets to hold the hand of the prettiest girl in the whole school! It's my lucky day! I'm over the moon! It's because of you! I like yo-!

"Yeah." He responded flatly. "Your hand. It......cold." He wished so badly for the first time ever that the darkness could come back just for a minute so he could slap his face into his palm without being seen. 

"Well it's pretty lucky! Now we can see!" She giggled, completely unaware of his frustration. "I guess that means..."

She slowly began to draw her hand away from his. He panicked. Without even thinking he tightly pulled her hand back into his. 

"N-no!" He shouted. 

"Ok ok! I'm sorry.. your still probably a little frightened."

He nodded, slightly embarrassed by his reaction. But she was so kind and understanding. She just smiled sweetly back at him. 

"It's ok." She stood up, helping him up to his feet. "Let's get moving."

Jamie was hesitant, staring deep into the darkness where his light couldn't reach. Into the unknown. Mei quickly took notice, staring up at him as he was lost in his fears. She gave his hand a small squeeze, knocking him back into the moment. She took the opportunity to continue to walk forward, slowly pulling him along. They made there way into the dark.

 

\----

 

"Let's talk. Ya know. To keep your mind off things." She suggested as he shuffled close next to her. Maybe even slightly closer than he realized, but she didn't seem to mind. 

"S-sure thing darl." He stuttered, "Can ya lead the conversation? For once I don't feel super good at it." 

"Yes that's fine! Uhm..." she took notice of his mechanical arm. "Your arm. Did you, make it yourself?"

"Oh that? Y-yeah I did."

"That's pretty cool! How old were you when u made it?"

He paused searching his brain for an answer, which made Mei slightly nervous that she may not be able to keep the conversation going. Finally he answered.

"Shit, who knows..14 I think? Somewhere 'round there."

"14?!" She was sincerely shocked, "T-that's actually pretty impressive!"

"Had to do somethin. Not having it around anymore to help me was startin to get in the way. Out there ya can't afford things gettin in the way."

"I suppose that's true... not that I could ever begin to understand.." she had to stop herself from getting lost in thought of what it might have been like. 

"Ya wanna know, don't you?"

"Huh?"

"What happened to it? Me arm? People outside of Oz usually ask those kinds of things right away."

"Outside of Oz?"

"Well...its more..how do you say it...common for people to be missin their parts in Oz than anywhere else. Plus people ain't keen on keepin conversation with one another there to begin with."

"O-oh that...makes sense?" She bit her lip. "I...I guess. If you don't mind of course. I wouldn't want to overstep." 

"It's no problem." He took a deep breath. "I was a young scrapper pup. Always digging around for parts ya know, to sell and get some grub in my stomach. One day these older kids tried ta get me in on a big haul. Promised it would be enough to fill my belly for weeks, but they needed me. Ya know. I was small enough to fit into spaces they couldn't. I was still pretty young and stupid so I trusted them. Took me to the place...where it all started."

"The omnium..." Mei whispered.

"Yeah...where the explosion went down..." he continued, "wasn't suppose to be there. It was abandoned, but still dangerous. Hazardous. More radiation pouring out of it than anywhere else."

"You really went?"

"Yeah... they took me over to the edge of the giant crater that stretched for miles...it was filled with the building's old structures and piled up with scrap. They took me to this particular spot, one I could crawl into and climb down to the bottom of the crater, and search around on the floor. That's where all the good stuff would be they told me. But only I could fit. Me being the dumb lil shit I was, squeezed myself in and started to climb down. As I was climbing down my foot pushed down on a piece of scrap and I knocked it out of place...must of been some sort of chain reaction cuz next thing I knew all the scrap I was climbing down on fell off the walls and me along with it. I woke up on the ground, metal surrounding me, and my arm caught underneath a huge beam. The kids left me there. The whole thing must of spooked them and they must have chalked me up as a goner. Dead weight. Dead dead weight. Almost was. I was stuck down there for a week."

Mei gasped, leaning in closer to him. "That's terrible! How could they do that! W-what did you do?!"

"Ever see that one classic movie? The one about the guy who got stuck in the canyon or some shit? Under a boulder?"

"You didn't..." Mei's face grew pale.

"Had to. Ripped off a sharp piece of scrap and cut myself free..." he looked down at his metal arm, moving the fingers one by one, "I can still feel it sometimes. It hurts like a bitch.." 

"Jamison...." Mei wasn't quite sure what to say, especially with him sounding so relaxed about something so traumatic. She wasn't sure how to handle her response. 

"They were right..." he began to giggle to himself. Losing himself in his thoughts. It almost felt somewhat eery as his laughter bounced off the cave walls, "The most valuable stuff was at the bottom. And it's mine now. Ain't nobody gunna take it from me...and if they kill me trying...well then they definitely won't ever find it...the treasure I found at the Omnium." He giggled even more as he clenched his mechanical arm. 

"Jamie..."

He stopped himself, "S-sorry snowflake! I uh.."

"What treasure?"

He quickly dodged the question, "H-heh still gotta keep some things a secret, right snowflake? Gotta stay interesting!" 

"Right..." she looked at him skeptically and then quickly dropped it. Maybe a conversation to save for another day if her curiosity really gets the better of her. "That's really amazing that you were able to get out...I mean...it must have been a huge challenge, all by yourself. That's incredible.."

"Eh. Been through plenty more after that, still gunna go through more I'm sure. But what about you? Must not be uncharted territory for ya. You've been through somethin similar yourself, with gettin yourself outta the snow prison all on your own."

"How do you know about me escaping ecopoint on my own..?"

"Saw it when I was diggin around your files." He responded with no sign of guilt.

"You dug around my files?!" Mei stopped in her tracks. Jamison just shot her a glare in response.

"Didn't ya say at the store that you were diggin through mine...?"

She opened her mouth to tell him off but nothing came out. He was right. She didn't give him the same courtesy. Perhaps overwatch should maybe work on its security regarding its files a little more. 

She continued to walk, shrugging in agreement. "You're right. You got me." 

He smirked and continued along with her.

She lost herself in her thoughts for a while as they continued on. Thinking about Jamison and how hard that must have been for him as a child to experience such horrors. No wonder he wasn't as stable as everyone else. It almost made her wonder and fear for those who lived in Australia now. Overwatch did its best to help the world and now they were on the brink of rebuilding it after the aftermath of the war against the omnics. But Australia was still untouched by them. It felt somewhat sad. It was hard to admit, but compared to all the other countries, the outback received little to no help. It was at the bottom of the list in terms of priorities. 

Perhaps it was because it was too far gone. Too dangerous. But that didn't mean that there weren't people there who still needed help. 

She didn't realize how long they had been walking for in silence. It had been almost 2 hours since they started their track through the caves, and still no luck. She suddenly noticed an anxious tapping on her hand. Jamison was unknowing tapping his fingers on her's, trying to keep his hands busy and mind off of things. 

"Oh Jamie! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to get so quiet for so long..." she exclaimed, "Are you ok?"

"Y-yeah sorta." His eyes were shifting side to side as if he were looking out for danger. 

She bit her lip searching her mind for any other conversation starter. The situation from earlier popped into her head, and now that they were trapped together, she felt as though it was a good opportunity. 

"Can I ask you something?" She spoke up. 

"Sure thing, darl."

"Can you tell me...Why did you leave so suddenly when we were playing truth or dare? You seemed really upset."

He grunted in frustration, scratching the back of his neck with his mechanical hand, "I thought we went over this..."

"Not really?"

"Ain't nothing bothering me. And that's that."

Her eyebrows furrowed. And she felt herself growing impatient. She knew he was lying and she wanted to help. He just wished he would let her. 

"If nothing's bothering you, then why do you get so angry when I ask? Hmm?"

"Cuz ya won't stop askin!"

"I just want to help!"

"I don't need ya help! I can figure things out meself!" He growled.

"Soooo there is something bothering you!"

"N-no! There's nothing! NOTHING!"

"But you just said-"

He waved his free hand in the air, "Slip of the tongue! Forget it!"

"And even if you didn't let it slip, it's pretty clear you are upset! I mean one moment we were playing truth or dare," she held her free hand up to her chin as she recalled the memory, "you were laughing and carrying on just like everyone else! Then u got anxious and all figgety!"

"Ain't nothing out of the ordinary so can you-!"

"But why?! It was so weird. The drinks? hmm no that's not it."

"Can you PLEASE st-"

"When did it happen again?"

"Seriously!"

"The genji lap dance dare? No...the dare where lucio had to strip to his undies?"

"I told you!"

"The kiss-" she stopped mid-sentence. Jamison didn't interrupt. It was clear as day now to her; that he was jealous. And he didn't want to admit it. It was only up until now that he finally got close enough to her to even laugh and talk to her from the bottom of his heart. To lose that over some stupid dare; he didn't like it. It made his skin crawl. 

"Y-you were jealous..." she softly stuttered.

"I-I was not!" His voice cracked as he tried to cover up his tracks.

"You were jealous.....that... Mccree kissed me..and he didn't kiss you!"

There she went again; she was so oblivious it wasn't even funny. He couldn't hold back this time around, however. 

"THATS NOT WHY IM JEALOUS!" He stammered.

"So you are jealous!"

"I-I'm! Ugh dammit snowflake can you! I'm! UGH!" He growled as he kicked up a lump of rocks in frustration. 

"So..if it wasn't because you didn't get to kiss Mccree...then it was..." she gasped, holding her free hand over her mouth to stop herself from saying any more. She knew. Oh god she knew. 

He gave her hand another tight squeeze, turning away again trying not face her. Unfortunately he caught a small glimpse of her shocked face. 

Of course she was shocked. She was beautiful, elegant, kind and smart. She was far above him. Far above anything he could ever be. He felt his lip tremble as he imagined what must have been going on in her head. She may have started to give him a chance recently, but surely she must still see him as a scraggily, dirty, scoundrel. A smelly criminal scraped off the radiated, dust blown roads of a land filled with monsters and murders. He was one of them. She was a queen. She smelt so sweet and her words were like silk. Her presence was so refreshing, like a sip of water after weeks of thirst in the wasteland. His presence must have felt like nails on a chalk board. He shut his eyes tightly trying not to let it get the best of him. His temper was something he didn't want to lose around her. 

"Have...you never kissed anyone before Jamison?" She finally spoke up. 

He didn't turn to face her as he spoke, "I-I have...well sorta...it wasn't something I wanted at the time...but it happened. T-that's pretty much it though." 

"I-is that something you want now?"

"W-what are you going on about snowflake?" He stuttered. 

"The Outback was so ruthless on you...and you were so young."

"What about it...?" He nervously tapped on her hand again, pace steadily growing faster with each long, passing moment. 

"You never got a chance to do anything. Other than fight everyday and try to survive. Other than that...you never went to school? Or made friends? Or...dated?"

"Made friends here and there...hogs the only one who didn't try and kill me."

"What I mean is...you were jealous because it's something you want. Right?"

He understood her. He wasn't as dumb as people made him out to be. He knew Mei was trying to attribute his jealousy to his lack of chances of being able to have such a meaningful moment in the past. But it wasn't like that. 

Perfect, life changing, first kisses were bullshit. He wasn't jealous because he never got to meet a classmate behind the bleachers and kiss until they got caught. He wasn't jealous because he never got to take out his significant other for a ride and kiss under the stars. He wasn't jealous because of the idea of the experience. 

He was jealous because it was her involved. He was jealous because the pretty cowboy got to kiss her and he didn't. 

He wasn't jealous because it was a kiss. But because it was a kiss with Mei. 

"I dunno Mei.." He looked at the ground, kicking around small rocks that stood in their path. Anything to keep his mind from running wild.

She watched his feet as he shuffled along, searching for the right words. She couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. All those lost years of lost experiences. Jamison was wild, unpredictable and impulsive but he deserved to start fresh. Overwatch was giving him that opportunity to have a somewhat normal life, but what about all of the things he had already missed? The little things? she wanted to help. But how? 

Then it clicked. 

It was just a kiss. Nothing more. Maybe that was an experience she could give him. Maybe just maybe; if of course he was comfortable with it. 

"Wait!" She thought to herself, "Why am I even considering such a thing! This is Junkrat we are talking about! Just a few days ago we were at each others throats and now I'm thinking of kissing him?!"

She shook her head trying to rid herself of the passing thought but it wouldn't leave. Was it that deep down she wanted to? Her face flushed red, and her palms began to sweat. 

"M-maybe..." she finally spoke, "I could-AHHHH!"

She interrupted herself, shrieking loudly and sending her and Jamison in a frenzy. He looked around to see the source of her screams; a few rats had darted out of the darkness and into their glowing circle; scampering around and then back into the darkness again. 

Mei's skin crawled at the site of the furry creatures. Without realizing it, she leapt from her spot and pushed herself into Jamison, placing her hands on his chest and burrowing her face against him. 

"OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH!" She nuzzled against him as she twisted and squirmed. 

He froze upon her touching him. She was closer to him than they have ever been, fully up against his skin. He blushed, reaching his hand out and hovering it over her back. 

"H-hey they are gone. You alright there, darl?" 

"Y-yeah I'm fine. Sorr-" she looked up at him and realized how close they were. Their faces were inches away from one another. She caught her breath as she looked into his eyes. She could never get over how pretty they were. She had never seen golden eyes quite like his before; and the way he looked back at her caused them to sparkle. They were almost hypnotizing. And the small freckles on his face were more prominent now that he was clean. Up close she noticed just how much there were. They were like mini constellations. She couldn't pull away. He didn't want her to go away. 

"That experience..maybe..maybe I-I could...if you don't mind..." she stuttered. 

He didn't let her finish. He couldn't hold himself back any longer. Without even thinking about the consequences, he placed his hand fully on her back and pulled her in and placed his lips on her's. 

It felt like a high. His brain tingled lightly as he pressed his lips further onto hers. He didn't pull away, instead he waited for her to make that decision. She didn't pull away either, in fact, she closed her eyes and lost herself in the moment, unknowingly resting her hand in Jamison's cheek. He let a small moan escape from his throat. Her lips were so soft, and so sweet. It was nothing like the kiss he saw between her and the cowboy; it was so much more. 

Up until this moment he thought lovey dovey kisses and feelings were a load of bullshit. This one single moment changed all of that. She changed all of that. From they day he met her, she changed how he felt about a lot of things. And it still amazed him how one person could do something like that to him. She was truly amazing. 

She parted her lips from his slowly; the taste of gas and fire still lingered. She blinked and made eye contact with him again. His eyes went from wide to soft and dreamy; as if his brain were still adjusting after the rush it gave him. 

"J-Jamie." She uttered softly in a whisper. 

He began to lean in closer to her, wanting more. "M-Mei Ling..." 

"Jamie...W-wait! JAMIE! LOOK!" She pointed to the cavern wall. He blinked and shifted his attention to the wall. Light danced brightly off the walls, even brighter than before. He realized then that flames of his hair grew even brighter after the kiss, allowing them to see even further into the cave. 

"W-what is it?" He asked, watching Mei as she scrambled from his grasp to a large bolder leaning against the cavern wall. He looked even closer and noticed the edges of it were lined with a soft, glowing blue light radiating from the other side. A smile grew widely on his face as he skipped after her, pressing his weight up against the bolder and pushing with all his strength.

"Yes! Yes! YES! WE ARE OUTTA HERE!" He giggled. 

"M-me too! Let me help!" Mei shifted herself under him and began to push too. "This must have been how those pesky little rats got it!"

"Well THIS pesky rat wants OUT!" With one final, big push they were able shift the rock just enough to squeeze out. Jamie wiggled out first, the tips of his hair going out from the breeze that whistled by. He reached back and helped Mei maneuver her way out as well. 

She took a deep breath, taking in the sweet, salty air and exhaling all of her worries away. For now that was. 

"We made it. We actually made it out."

Jamie leaned down to her level, raising his eyebrow at her with a smirk, "What had ya thinking we wouldn't? To me you looked mighty confident in there that we would."

She held her hand to her chest, trying to slow her heart rate. "To be honest I was worried the whole time. I just put on a front." She let out a small giggle of relief. 

Jamie smiled sweetly at her, "So I wouldn't be scared, huh? Coming to poor ole Junkrat's rescue?"

She blushed, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Yes..I suppose I was."

"Sounds like you. You're always thinking about others before yourself. I could learn something from that." He chuckled. "I guess what I'm trying to say is..thanks" 

She smiled. "Y-yeah don't mention it."

They stood in silence for a bit. Jamie couldn't take his eyes off of her, he was still feeling the high from the loving moment they shared. His eyes curved with his smile as he stared deep into her eyes, just taking her in. She was mesmerizing. 

She smiled back; she felt her heart flutter a bit upon seeing his genuine smile. He wasn't the best at hiding his emotions, and seeing him in such a state made her heart sing a little. Her eyes shifted down to her lips; it suddenly hit her that they really did kiss. She scrambled, heart thumping hard in her chest, she quickly turned herself around to catch her composure. Jamison's smile faded as he watched with confusion. 

"You ok there love?"

"Oh my god we actually kissed!" She thought to herself in a panic, "we actually kissed in there! That really happened?! Me and junkrat?! Kissing?!" 

She fiddled her fingers a bit anxiously, trying to calm herself. It really wasn't something she ever expected happening. And although she kept reminding herself it was just a kiss, there was something about it that made her feel incredibly flustered. 

He slithered his way over, putting himself in her personal space and leaning over her shoulder. He caught a glimpse of her twiddling thumbs and her beaming red cheeks, "Ya sure?" 

"Y-yes I'm fine! I'm fine! W-we have to go find the others!" She tried to distract herself with the actual issue at hand, "we don't know how much time we have!"

Jamison furrowed his eyebrows and put on a determined face, responding with a sharp nod, "Ya right! Let's get movin!"

He grabbed her hand and began to run as fast as his legs could take him, which was faster than Mei had anticipated. She could hardly keep up, practically tripping with every other step.

"J-Jamie! How the heck are you even moving that fast!"

Way off the distance the beach house could be seen; the only distinction being the soft glow of its lights against the nighttime sky. 

From where Mei and Junkrat were, it was a tiny little speck. Meaning they had a long way to go before they would arrive. 

Mei felt the cold air rush against her face as she kept up with Jamison's speed. Her heart ached at the idea of what may be waiting for them when they arrived...she just hoped deep in her heart she would be there just in time.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you sure it wasn't just..I don't know..Jamie being Jamie? He sets off explosives all the time! Maybe the explosion we heard was just him goofing off." Hana suggested. She was shivering under her oversized hoodie, rubbing her bare legs together to keep them warm against the cold nighttime breeze. 

All of the house's occupants were now gathered outside on the beach, discussing the next plan of action to find their missing teammates. 

"I'm afraid not Hana." Mercy said calmly, "Mei and Jamison haven't returned for some time, and Mr. Rutledge seems pretty adamant that there may be a bigger issue present."

Hana groaned, turning her attention to Roadhog who was perched on the porch steps in deep thought. His dark lenses turned in her direction. 

"Hog, are you sure?" She complained.

He gave her a small nod back, "He carries around an emergency bomb when he's in he's not in his fighting gear. Wouldn't set it off unless something was wrong." 

"Maybe he..." Hana shrugged, "accidentally dropped it?"

"Wouldn't set it off by accident." Roadhog replied very matter of fact. 

He should have been there. He should have trusted his gut feeling from the very start and followed his stupid boss when he first had the chance. There possibly couldn't be much trouble you could get into at a private beach vacation home; but if there was, Roadhog knew if anyone could sniff it out, it would be Jamison. 

Jamison was impulsive and most of Roadhog's time spent as his bodyguard consisted of making sure he didn't wiggle himself into bad situations by making stupid-ass decisions. Ever since they joined Overwatch, Mako tried to let the reigns fall a little loose. He wanted Jamison to make connections and build trust with others. He also wanted him to learn from others as well, and realize when and where is the best time to give in to your impulses. Perhaps that would take longer than he had originally hoped. He sighed and held his forehead in his hand. He could feel a headache growing in his skull. Mako feared for his dumbass employer. 

While trying to recollect himself, he couldn't help but catch a few beats of a conversation happening amongst some of the other members nearby. 

"Mei is with him..." Pharah whispered to the others. "You don't think he...did anything bad to her, do you? They were fighting that one night and all.."

"He better not have!" Zarya growled, "If he did he's a dead man!"

"Come on guys." Lena shook her head disapprovingly, "Don't say such things. I'm sure that's not what happened at all...Hana was right, he's a part of our team now. We shouldn't talk about our teammates like that.." 

"Teammate or not. It won't stop me from breaking him in two if he hurts her." Zarya pounded her fist into the palm of her hand to really drive the point home. 

Lena winced, "Okay well. If he did, sure, go ahead. But I seriously think we don't have to worry about it."

"I'll believe that when I see them." She replied sternly. 

Roadhog let a low growl escape his mouth. He very rarely ever cared what people thought of him, but sometimes he couldn't shake the ugly feeling he would get when he caught someone talking about Jamison in such a manner; as if he were some blood thirsty fool who would just kill anyone without a purpose. I mean he was guilty of it, but still, he wanted his life to progress from what they had, and that's hard to do when others are thinking of him in such a way. He knew Jamie wouldn't hurt the ice girl; he knew Jamie liked her more than people were aware. And he didn't like the idea of others putting those thoughts in her head either; he hated to admit it, but he wanted Jamison to have a chance. 

He clenched his giant fist, trying to suppress any urge to march up to them and tell them to keep their freaking thoughts to themselves. That wouldn't help, as much as he wanted to.

"Goddammit..." he mumbled; Junkrat was such a fool. A loudmouth, stupid, explosion loving fool. Why did he have to care so much about him. Getting all mushy made him want to hurl. 

"Well they are both adults! Maybe they're takin so long cuz they are..." Hana waved her hand in circles, "ya know..."

Brigette's mouth went agape, "HANA!"

"Well you don't know!"

Solider began to scowl, "What exactly are you implying." 

"Maybe they are..how did you put it when you gave me-" Hana made air quotations with her fingers, "-'The Talk'.....oh that's right. Maybe they are 'conoodling'"

Brigette snorted, quickly covering her mouth to suppress her giggles. 

Soldiers face went bright red as he began to stutter, "I-I have NEVER referred to it as-. HANA! Don't go spreading lies!"

"It...does kind of sound like something you would say, Jack." Mercy uttered cautiously.

"It does not!" His face grew even redder, "And don't say things like that about your teammates. This isn't high school, Hana."

But Hana wasn't listening; her jaw was dropped as she looked past solider and down the beach. Her shocked face morphed into a huge smile. 

"Holy shit!" She giggled as she ran past him and to the source. 

"Language!" Solider turned to see her running to two forms further down the beach. It was Mei and Jamison. "It's them!" 

Everyone turned and followed, eager to hear where they had run off to, and why they looked so tattered and torn. Mei and Jamison were too busy running to their team to realize their appearance clearly showed the struggle they had been through. They were covered head to toe in dust, dirt and scrapes from the explosion and fall. Which was a normal look for Jamison, but on Mei, it was definitely out of the ordinary. It sent Angela into doctor / nurturing mode as her pace quickened 

"Oh my goodness." She whispered to herself. 

Hana was the first to make it to them. She jumped up into the air and wrapped her arms around both of them pulling them into a group hug. 

"There you are! I was telling everyone you were alright but they didn't listen! I knew you-" she paused mid sentence, eyes falling down to their hands. 

"Huh. Maybe I wasn't so off after all. Hmm?" She cooed.

Mei gave her a perplexed look, "What are you talking about?"

Hana didn't say a word before she took out her phone and shot a quick picture of the both of them, then gave Mei her answer, pointing down to their hands that were still clasped together tightly. Everyone else was close behind, it was obvious by the looks on their face that they saw too. 

Mei blushed; quickly let go off Jamie's hand and tried to play it off as if they weren't holding hands in the first place. Jamie played along, running his hand through his hair and whistling awkwardly to himself, but it was already too late. Hana smirked at them and then to the photo on her phone. Definitely a keeper. 

"So what happened to you?" Naive, innocent Lucio appeared. Angela shortly after, grabbing Mei and Jamison and looking them up and down and all over looking for any signs of damage.

"Are you hurt? Any pain?" Angela jumped to the point still examining them closely. 

"No no. We are fine." Mei reassured her, "We ran into a problem..."

"A problem?" Lucio questioned.

"What's going on?" Hana asked.

Soon everyone was surrounding the two of them, asking the same questions all in a variety of ways. 

"Woah one at a time jeez." Jamie tried to interject. 

"E-everyone we are sorry we worried you but please listen! There's-" Mei was quickly cut off by the sound of thundering steps approaching the group. Everyone silenced quickly, shuffling out of the way of Roadhog. He pushed himself through the crowd, his presence overpowering everyone else's with his large, looming stance. His face could not be seen, but by the sounds of his huffs and the way he carried himself, it was clear he was not in a pleasant mood. Everyone backed away even further, as he made his way straight to Jamison. 

"Roadie! Great ta see ya! Sorry I slipped away for so long! Truly didn't mean t-" Jamie began. 

Roadhog didn't listen. He didn't want his excuses. He went straight to Jamison, balled his fist as tightly as he could, and swung. His punch landed square on Jamison's face, sending him flying off his feet and into the sand with a painful yelp. Everyone gasped; it wasn't the greeting they expected from him, then again, they were never sure what to expect from the Junkers. 

Jamison tried to pick himself off the ground, his head was pulsing with pain. He groaned, touching his hand to his nose; blood, of course, there was blood. 

"What in the HELL?!" Jamie snapped at him. "You punched me!"

"You wanna be a dead man Jamison?!" Mako roared, "Running off and starting shit. Not thinking! God for once in your fucking life can you think?! Where were you?!"

"What's it to ya?! I'm a grown ass man! I can choose where I can and can't go!" He responded, voice rasping with pain. 

"Grown ass man?! You?! Then start acting like it ya little shit!" 

Everyone was stunned; not only about the fact they saw the monster of a man suddenly punch his smaller counterpart in the face, but also because they had never heard Mako talk this much and in that tone in their life. 

"Why do you fucking care so damn much?!" 

"Cuz that's what YOU PAY ME FOR, YOU MORON." Mako tensed up even more from pure rage, "I heard your emergency bomb and couldn't get to you! How can I do my fucking job if you make it so damn difficult!"

"Eat shit ya drongo!" Jamison clearly wasn't listening. He stopped listening from the moment Hog decided to slug him. He didn't care if Roadie had any decent reason to be upset, he just knew he didn't like how he was being talked to. He flipped Roadie off, which Roadie didn't take very kindly too. 

"That's IT. You stupid-" Mako winded his arm back for another punch, causing Jamison to flinch. However, he was quickly stopped by a sudden weight felt dangling off him.

"Please wait!" Mei shrieked, wrapping herself around Roadhog's forearm. Mei wasn't thinking, she just saw that Jamison was about to get hurt once again and her body just moved on it's own. There was no way her body weight alone stopped Roadhog from finishing out his punch; if he truly wanted to he could continue, sending Mei flying along with it. But he didn't. He stopped, shifting his attention to the small scientist who was now trembling in fear, still clasped to his arm.

"P-please Mr. Rutledge..." she stuttered, trying to keep her composure. When he turned to face her, inches away from her, she remembered how scared she was of him. 

He sighed. 

"He giving you any trouble...?" Mako asked softly to her. She stopped trembling and was suddenly taken aback by his sincere question. She stared for a while, trying to process his words. Meanwhile, being so close to him, she could for the first time see behind his lenses. His eyes were hiding behind them, and they looked so tired, and worn. Like a man who had seen a lot and just wanted some rest. Her grip loosened. 

"I ain't givin anyone any trouble so you leave her alone!" Jamison called out.

"I wasn't.." Hog turned in Jamison's direction and roared, "ASKING YOU!"

Jamison shrieked, scampering further away in the sand. Mako turned back to Mei, demeanor changing once again.

"So....he giving you any trouble?"

Mei shook her head, still wide eyed by their interaction, "No, Mr. Rutledge...In fact...he's helped me a lot...and I enjoy his company."

Roadhog let out a sigh of relief, his eyes closing behind his mask as he nodded back to her. "Don't let him give you any shit...you bring that to me if he does...yeah?"

She nodded back, fully letting go of his arm as he straightened himself up. 

"Get off your ass you cowardly prick.." he spoke down to Jamie, who was now scrambling to his feet. "Don't go causing trouble. Especially where I can't follow, you got it?"

Jamison scowled at him, processing his words. Soon, his scowl slowly turned into a devilish smile, and high pitch cackling escaped from his body.

"Your a big softy, Roadie...a real puddin." he said after finally catching his breath. "Sorry for worryin ya..."

"Pain in my ass.."

"I ain't forgetting bout this though! That punch ya landed on me! As a mattah of fact, I'm- I'm tellin on ya! That's right! NAN! NAN! Did ya see!" He conjured up some big fake baby tears, "Roadie hit me Nan! Real bad too! T-tell em he's in trouble!" 

"Do you ever shut up, honestly." Hog buried his face in his hand. "You're lucky your ice friend was here to hold me back... would've flattened you." 

Jamison's cries vanished in an instant upon hearing about Mei. He suddenly was beaming. Sparkling with pride as if he were showing her off as his own. "Too right! She's a strong gal ain't she? Even you couldn't get past her ey, Roadie? Wow, what a beaut!"

Mei blushed, covering her face with a mixture of embarrassment and bashfulness. Everyone else was just down right confused. 

"So...are they okay now?" Mccree asked. "Hog and the junker kid?"

Genji just shrugged, "People show affection in many different ways...not that I quite understand it." 

Angela finally spoke up, getting to the point, "You said there was some trouble, Mei. What did you mean exactly?"

Everyone suddenly shifted their attention to her, all eyes growing eager, waiting for her answer, including Jamison. She gulped. There was really no right way to say it. And she wished deep down in her heart it wasn't true. That it was all a dream. But it wasn't.

"It's Talon." She answered sadly, "They are coming." 

 

\---

 

It didn't take long at all for everyone's fun vacation vibes to fade away. Soon everyone was gathered in the living room of the house, devising a plan against what was soon to come. 

Jamison and Mei stood in front of the crowd; breaking down their story in full as to what they saw on the cliffs, and who. 

"It's Sombra." Mccree stated as he lit the tip of a new cigar, "Its gotta be."

"Saw her in Dorado once." Junkrat added, "When Talon was trying to get me in on their gigs. That's how I knew."

"I've never seen her before myself..." Mei stated calmly.

"She is a hacker. Talon's source of all their information. She is usually in the background off all the battles, gathering data and putting it to use." Zarya explained, "She has caused a lot of problems just by being behind the scenes. Even for my people."

"If she's involved, its bad news." Mccree drew a long breath of his cigar and puffed it out slowly, "Might even see our old bosses, Genji." 

"I would prefer not to..." Genji sighed, "Now that I am finally at peace with myself, I would like to cut them out for good."

"We all would." Jack added, "But there's not much we can do to stop them from showing up..."

"They must have found out we were here...Somehow." Winston adjusted his glasses.

Hana's lips began to tremble. She pulled her legs up to her chest and started to bury her face into the pillow she had tightly clenched in her arms. "M-my streams...the must have saw I was streaming..I-I mentioned we were all on vacation while I was drunk. They could have seen. I'm so sorry solider...everyone." 

Lucio quickly came to her side, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a comforting hug as she began to cry. "Hey, it's ok it's ok. I wasn't careful either...I wasn't exactly secretive about this on social media...they could've seen that too."

"We all weren't careful." Bridgette added, "We weren't expecting to have to keep things a secret, let alone worry about Talon...After our last run in with them, we thought we had them taken care of for a while.." 

Nothing could really comfort her though. The feeling of guilt still hung over her, and the tears wouldn't stop. She tried hard to suck it up, but no luck. 

"What about the dropship? Is there any way we can get it to us?" Mercy asked.

Winston sadly shook his head in response, "Brigette was right, we had Talon beat so badly our last match, I was foolish. I shut down all Athena while we were out to avoid any unwanted data entries...and I also gave the rest of the flight crew and overwatch station staff a vacation...We are here until we reach the vacations official end date."

"That's still 3 days from now! What are we going to do! We are sittin ducks out here!" Torbjourn called out the obvious. Something nobody in the room wanted to hear. It caused Hana to cry even more. 

Everyone soon broke into multiple conversations at once. Between that, the sobs emanating from Hana as well as all the thoughts running full speed through her mind, Mei was on sensory overload. She began to tremble, her anxiety coursing through her body; she felt as though her head was being crushed. Fear had completely taken over her. 

Jamison realized this. He side eyed her as the rest of the group carried on in a melody of panic. He tapped her shoulder to see if she was alright, but she gave no reaction. She was too caught up in her own mind to notice. 

"QUIET!" Ana shouted, silencing everyone within seconds. She took a moment to breathe before speaking again, dunking her teabag a few times in her mug, "We need to remain calm and think over our options. We are sitting ducks yes, but we are not finished. Talon hasn't won yet. So please, stay focused soldiers."

"No dropship. No idea of what Talon has planned. No weapons! What are we to do?" Zarya questioned assertively.

"I may have something up my sleeve.." Solider confessed, gaining everyone's interest. "Sorry to say this Winston. I know you said no weapons on this trip, but I always like to keep myself a hundred percent prepared." He waved Reinhardt over, leading him into the hall and to his room. A few moments later they appeared again, this time supplied with multiple large metal containers. 

He opened them to reveal a very scarce supply of everyone's weapons and gear. Some of the pieces were incomplete, such as mercy's gear, which in the case only consisted of a staff and her wings. She frowned, gently caressing the artificial feathers. 

"It isn't much. I couldn't bring everything. But it's our only chance." Solider sighed, watching everyone examine what they had available to them. "Let's hope it's enough..."

Mei watched everyone as they gathered what little they had available. She grasped on to her shirt even tighter; she felt her stomach flip inside her. It was more than what she had originally thought they had but still was hardly enough to face Talon. These were people she cared about more than anything; facing Talon and whatever they had planned for Overwatch was inevitable. But would they be able to hold their own against them?

Sweat started to seep from her pores at the thought of her friends falling to the sand, one by one, at the hands of Talon. And her not being able to protect any of them…

Just like she couldn’t protect…

Her skin went pale as she balled her fist and held it up to her lips, choking back the urge to throw up in front of everyone in the room. She wanted to excuse herself. She wanted to run away.

Luckily Mercy noticed this from across the room, and gave Mei a chance to escape without drawing too much attention to her, “Jamison and Mei… You both have been through so much tonight. We appreciate you reporting this information back to us. Why don’t you go on to your rooms. Clean up and turn in for tonight. You will need your rest.” She gave Mei a sweet smile, as Mei nodded back, biting on to her lip. 

She gave everyone a small wave before quicky turning on her heels and speed walking around the corner. Jamison eyed Roadie, and then scampered after her, trying to keep up with her pace. Finally they it was just the two of them in the halls. Mei was practically running to her room while Jamison began to struggle to keep up with her.

“Hooly Dooly, snowflake! What’s got ya in such a hurry!?” he called after her. 

She couldn’t answer right away. The feeling of anxiety was eating at her quicker than it ever had before. Her head was pulsing with pain, telling her to run further and further. Run away from everything. She clasped her hands over her mouth. It was almost too late. She was going to hurl. She had to make it, just a little bit further. 

“Im sorry!” she mumbled through her hands as she ran into her room, slamming the door behind her. 

Jamison skidded to a halt in front of her room. Staring at the doorknob, fighting the urge to just barge in after her. She looked scared. He wanted to help her...just like she helped him.

“Dammit..” He growled to himself, tapping his fist against the doorframe. 

\-----

She was leaning over the toilet bowl for almost thirty minutes now. She groaned, wanted to declare that she finally got all the puking out of her system, but scared that she may jinx herself by doing so. She just sat still, patiently riding out the stomach and post anxiety attack pains. The cold bathroom floor felt amazing against her skin. She took a deep breath, recentering herself and trying to calm the pulsing pain still beating in her head. 

“Beep!” 

Mei looked over to see little snowball fluttering over the sink with a wet washcloth clasped under one of its wings. It’s emoticon eyes showed his concern for her, as he bobbed up and down, bringing his help to her. 

“Thank you, Snowball” She groaned, trying to put on a sweet smile for her little robot friend. “I guess I got too into my head… and made myself sick. I’m so sorry to worry you.”

She took the washcloth in her hands and pressed her face into it, taking in the soothing relief the cold water gave her skin. She was burning up, well, as much as she cold. 

She brought the washcloth away from her face, immediately taking notice of how filthy it was. 

“Oh that’s right…” she uttered softly, looking down at herself. She was still covered in dirt from head to toe. She giggled a bit, “Maybe a soothing shower and bath will help me feel a little better. What do you think?” 

Snowball’s eyes went into his trademark “^ ^” state as he happily beeped, wizzing out the door and flying back in with a small plastic bag. Inside of it was one of Mei’s pastel blue, sparkly bath bombs she brought along just in case. 

“Great idea, Snowball!” She beamed, taking the offering from him.

Mei took off her dirty clothes and folded them neatly on the towel rack to avoid any more dirt getting anywhere else. She ran the shower, turning it slightly colder than usual to give her even more relief. Stepping in, she began to rinse off all the dirt and grime from her body. She couldn't help but make a face watching all of the dirty water run its course down the drain. A thought came to her mind, is this what Jamison usually sees when he finally showers off? She giggled at the thought of it. Oh gosh, it was probably so much worse. 

After finally getting the dirt off of herself, she ran the bath water at a nice warm, soothing temperature. 

“Come here snowball!” she called her little robot over, who quickly fluttered to her side. She smiled, holding the bath bomb over the water. “The best part!”

She freed it from her hands allowing it to plop into the bath below. The water swiftly overtook it, breaking it down in all its fizzy, sparkly glory. The water bubbled up, slowly turning into a bright, pastel blue color. Snowball let out a happy beep, spinning in the air excitedly and landing itself on the sink countertop. Little music note emojis suddenly danced across its screen, as Snowball began to play soothing spa music for Mei and her bath time. 

She giggled, blushing at Snowball’s kind gesture, “Thank you, my friend.”

She stepped into the bath, slowly sinking her whole body into the water with a relaxed sigh. The water smelt of lavender and vanilla, and the swirls of sparkles and blue coloring danced around her legs as she adjusted herself comfortably. The music filled the room, and she shut her eyes. Taking in all the smells, the sounds and the warmth. 

The warmth. Because of the warmth, she couldn’t help but be reminded of Jamison. 

She thought of him as the warmth took over every inch of her body. Her face burned red. 

\---

After her long bath she changed into her soft, comfy pajamas and plopped down on the bed.   
Snowball flew over to her and beeped, as if to get confirmation on how she was feeling. She giggled, wrapping herself in her soft, snowflake blanket. 

“I’m feeling much better, Snowball. Thank you so much for your help.” She yawned. 

He beeped back to her, pleased to hear she was doing much better than before. Her nerves still lingered in the back of her mind, but luckily she was able to calm herself just enough to get some shut eye for the time being. Everything she had been through today started to catch up with her. She felt her eyes grow very heavy as she snuggled deeper into her blanket, letting her body take control as she fell fast asleep. 

She dreamt of ice. Just as she usually did.

This time she found herself out in the vast empty lands of Antarctica. The Ecopoint was nowhere to be seen. The cold, frozen wind gnawed at her skin. She tried to shield herself from the unstoppable force, but there was no luck. It bit at her and scratched at her. She breathed deeply, screaming out for help or shelter. But the wind became blinding, and picked up its speed, knocking her down completely into the snow. 

She felt small, helpless, lost. She cried out again, but nothing. 

Tears started to form in her eyes, only adding even more pain to her already chilled face. 

She cried again, this time even louder than the times before. Suddenly, the snow beneath her started to glow. It was a warm, bright, yellow glow, that warmed her up from the inside out. The wind cowered away from the glow as it grew even larger benthe her, spreading out over the snow. She watched, wide eyed, as fire suddenly burst from the edges of the glow, overpowering the cold wind completely. 

Soon she found herself surrounded by fire. Everywhere she looked there were flames. It should have brought fear and chaos to her, but in fact, it actually soothed her. The fire was protecting her, shielding her from the cold, from her fears. It moved in closer to her, wanting to embrace her fully, and she let it. 

She closed her eyes taking in the warm and all it had to provide her. And it took her back. 

“I gotcha, snowflake.” it whispered to her. And she smiled. She felt at peace. 

Something in the real world however took her away from her peaceful dreams.

Her eyes shot open. The room was still dark, it was clearly still very early in the morning, perhaps the middle of the night by Mei’s guess. She tried to pick her sleepy self up off the bed to reach for her phone and check but something was holding her back. Or perhaps, someone. 

She furrowed her eyebrows and quickly turned to see a sleeping Jamison wrapped around her. He was in her bed with her, sleeping against her with his arm wrapped tightly around her torso. He snored a bit, nuzzling his head against her back and pulling her in closer. 

She was too shocked to even move. How did he get in here?! What was he doing here?! The warmth from her dreams...could it have been? Her face turned a bright shade of red. She was frozen still, wanting badly to shove him off and ask why he intruded, but at the same time, something inside her wanted to stay. 

He mumbled something, pressing himself against her even more. His fingers brushed against her skin. The warmth was overwhelming. She breathed softly, trying not to disturb his rest. It wasn’t often she saw him in such a peaceful state, and she had to admit, it was kind of cute. Well, cute up until she felt something pulsing against her butt while he spooned her. Something...hard. 

She squealed, and in a panic she propelled herself away from him, almost completely falling off the bed. Her fall was stopped by a hand suddenly shooting out underneath him and tightly grasping on to her arm. She caught her breath, using her other hand to catch herself on the nightstand. He was now awake, looking back at her with one eye open, the rest of his face buried into the pillow. She caught a glimpse of a devilish smirk.

“Good thing I caught ya this time huh?” He joked with a sleepy tone, “Have a nice TRIP, snowflake?” He giggled lightly. 

She pulled herself up on the bed completely, looking at him in shock. She lightly smacked his hand off of her. “What do you think you are doing in here, Jamison?”

He smiled at her, watching as she put her hands on her hips and shot him the angry glare he was always so familiar with. “Just thought I would come check on ya, Mei-love.”

“Just checking on me?” 

“Mm-hmm.” He nuzzled himself into the pillow.

“And you ended up in my bed, how?!”

“Ya looked so comfy and cozy I didn’t wanna wake ya! So I sat here for a while with ya and well..kinda...just...fell asleep too!”

“Likely story! Wait! If you just came in ...wouldn’t Snowball have…” She frantically looked around the room for her robot friend. Junkers were not the biggest fans of robots and Omnics. In fact they were huge fans of scrapping them on the spot. She began to feel fear bubble up inside her. 

Suddenly she noticed something hopping inside her closed suitcase. She ran over and opened the lid, releasing an angry beeping snowball who, in no time at all, zoomed across the room, knocking the now sitting up Junker in the head. 

“Yowch! I didn’t scrap ya did I?! You should be thankful! You’re lucky Mei likes ya so much or I wouldn’t have been so kind to ya!” Jamison tried to whack him out of the air, but snowball dodged his attack and bonked him in the head once again. 

Mei took Snowball defensively in her arms, “You will not hurt, Snowball!”

“Ya right! Ya right!” Jamie waved his hands, surrendering, “I will not hurt the snowpile, gotcha!”  
“Snow. Ball!” She corrected.

“Right! Snowball! Don’t hurt the Snowball! Jeez...I just didn’t want the little bugger waking you up!” He stuck his tongue out at snowball childishly, and snowball beeped back. 

Mei sighed, taking that as a trouse she let snowball go and sat back down on the bed. Turning on the small lamp in her nightstand.

“You can’t just invade people’s spaces Jamie…” 

“W-Wasn’t tryin to invade nothing Snowflake, honest!” He held his hands up again, becoming visibly panicked, “Was seriously worried about ya! And I!...well...I...I’m sorry” 

He came because he was worried. Or so he says. Mei tensed up.

She bit her lip. “...Did I make a scene?”

“Huh?”

“What I mean is...Was it obvious I was scared? Do you think everyone else knows? Do you think they are all worried now?”

“Scared? So you were scared?” He seemed genuinely confused. He scooted himself up next to her and crossed his legs, “I was just referring to ya almost chunderin all over the halls.”

“Chund-?”

“Throwin up.”

She blushed, “Oh. Yeah. That.” She wasn’t super proud of that moment.

“But...you did look a little scared. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure... Don’t think ya caused a scene or anything though. Ya...wanna talk about it? I’ll listen.”

She sighed, “It’s just the whole Talon thing… I just don’t know what to expect.”

“Don’t think anyone does.” he fiddled with his fingers.

“I care about everyone so much. And with what we have. I just don’t know if we are going to make it. And… I want to be able to protect everyone.”

“You can’t.” He said coldly; very matter of fact. It made Mei frown. She began to tremble, thoughts of losing her friends coming back again.

“I-I know.” She stuttered, “I know very well I can’t protect everyone. But I want to. I-I wasn’t able to protect my friends at Ecopoint… And now that Overwatch is all I have left, I want to be able to protect everyone. And I know I can’t. But I don’t to see what happens when I can’t” Tears bubbled up in her eyes and she found her gaze leading toward the window. She watched the waves crash against the sand, half expecting to see Talon agents marching down the beach at any moment. Her grip tightened on the sheets. 

Jamison watched her. Just by seeing the look on her face, he could feel some of that hurt, and he didn’t like it one bit. A voice from his far past reached him. The same soft, gentle, woman’s voice that reached him from his memories when he needed it most. The memories he could never keep track of, or remember at his own will. “One day Jamison you will find someone you want to protect. And you will know how it feels. And you will know why I do the things I do. All for you.”

He reached his hand out and grabbed on to hers. She looked back at him, tears still growing in her eyes. He knew how holding her hand made him feel, how it brought him comfort. He wanted badly to comfort her too.

“These people. O-our team. They mean a lot to ya, yeah?” He asked.

She nodded back to him.

“W-well ya don’t have to protect them all on your own then. C-Cuz if they do mean a lot to you, then, I’ll help protect them too.” He blushed, averting his eyes. He was never good at or use to fluffy stuff like that, but if it gave Mei any peace of mind, he would say it, and he would mean it too. “And I’m sure they are all thinkin the same thing. Maybe...ya just need to...what did ya say that one time? Trust them?”

She blushed, tears spilling out from her eyes, “Oh, Jamie!” she leapt forward, pulling him into an embrace. 

“EH?! W-What’s goin on snowflake?! Bad Tears?! Good Tears?! I ain’t the best at tellin those sorts of things!” he hugged her back, trembling frantically trying to read the situation.

She pulled herself back, smiling and wiping her tears. “N-no they are good. I think? Haha. It’s...really nice to hear you say that. It’s sweet of you.”

“S-sweet” He held out his hands, trying to reach for her, attempting to find some way to help.

“Yes...It’s nice to know you will help. It makes me feel a lot better actually.” She held her chest and exhaled. “Although..I still can’t shake the feeling completely...I’m worried it may hold me back.. When they...actually come.”

She found herself looking out the window again. 

“I just wish I can calm down…” She continued. 

He watched her again, as she looked out the window, her face twisting back into that fearful look he hated. He wanted to help, and even if his words helped her a little bit, he still wanted to help her completely. All that pressure she had been putting herself under couldn’t be good. Not that he would really know or remember. He always laughed his fears off, or just distracted him enough until they went away completely. 

He tapped his hand to his chin, trying to think of something. Anything.

What did he do whenever he felt overwhelmed? The idea suddenly hit him, but….

His face turned bright red. Whenever he felt overwhelmed he released the pressure himself through...certain means. He could imagine that it was the same feeling with every other human being but, would that be something Mei would enjoy? Just the thought of it drove him wild, but he had to keep his cool. Or whatever “cool” he actually had.

“Ya know..” he began, unable to stop himself from keeping the idea in his head, “I-I could maybe help ya, relax a lil. Maybe what you need to get your mind of things is just... a lil… pleasure.”

Her neck practically snapped, she turned her head so quickly to him. He didn’t meet her gaze, instead he was looking at the ground, face redder than she had ever seen it, and the tips of his hair sparking at the ends. 

Her eyes widened, “B-by pleasure...Do you mean?” She gasped. This time around she actually understood what he was insinuating on the first try. He was suggesting he pleasured her. As in pleasure her. Her face grew even redder. 

It had been so long since she had been pleasured by another person. Let alone herself. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had some alone time to herself to release any tension or just for fun. She could never finish herself off. She always had a hard time. She only ever reached an orgasm when she was with another person, but it had been years since she had sex with someone. And had Jamison ever had sex at all? She blushed, her mind went blank, was it something she was even prepared for? And with Jamison?

He scrambled to his feet, “Y-YA KNOW WHAT? UHM” He uttered nervously, his voice squeaking with every other word as if he just now realized what he had said, “J-JUST FORGET IT SNOWF-UH MEI. UHM. I MEAN. DR. ZHOU. I UHM. I WASN’T TRYING TO PUT YOU IN ANY UNCOMFORTABLE SITUATION. HONEST!”

As she watch Jamison stutter and fumble over his own feet, she felt something inside of her almost feel a little excited about the idea. Jamison did have a point. It would be something to help calm her nerves, and it was something she secretly desired for a while. Not to mention how close they have been growing. She noticed since they had talked, when they weren’t together, he was on her mind, and when they were close, that radiating warmth brought her so much peace. It was the same warmth from her bath, that took over her whole body and soothed her. It was also the same warmth from her dreams, the one that embraced her and protected her. It was a warmth she craved. A warmth he had. 

Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed him, stopping him dead in his tracks. He looked back down at her, wide-eyed, waiting for any sign as to what he should do. He feared he may have messed up, and he wanted more than anything to take it back if it was something that made her hate him. But he noticed the look on her face, and that fear went away.

She looked up at him, blushing, eyes darting side to side. “I-I’m not ready for anything...super...ya know...but….if there is something you can do….that...you...uhm..” She didn’t know what she was saying. She couldn’t even understand herself. All she knew is that she did want him to help her. And he seemed to understand that too. 

He slowly sat back down next to her, his voice soft and gentle, “Ya want a little something you mean? Nothing...too extreme...but...you do want me to help you?”

She bit her lip, hearing her deep desires out loud made her feel a bit embarrassed, but that was the truth. And there was something about being around Jamison that she couldn’t explain, a force that drove her closer to him, that made her want him to be the one to do it. 

“R-right.” His voice trembled, he reached out to her, and she didn’t pull away. “I-I can do that.”

He wasn’t sure what was even going on; if this was even real life. Thoughts of them together occupied his dreams when he was both asleep and awake. Was he awake? Was this really happening? It must have been, because this feeling that completely took over him was nothing like the one in his dreams. It was a magical feeling he had never felt before; one that made him lose all of his senses but heighten them at the same time. Something only the real Mei could do to him. 

He laid her back gently on the pillow, her eyes looking up at him with both desire and curiosity, awaiting his next move. She bit her lip, adjusting herself comfortably on the bed as he placed himself in front of her. He lightly dug his fingers underneath the waistband of her shorts, looking back at her for any signs of discomfort before continuing. He didn’t want to make the wrong moves, but he wanted so badly to release her. 

She nodded, encouraging him that it was ok. He began to tug at her shorts, pulling her panties down with them. He could feel the soft texture of the lace on the tips of his fingers, it made his body tremble. Soon, he could see her. Her soft, pink flesh beneath her underwear was exposed to him. His mouth opened slightly. He had to hold himself back from letting his jaw drop at the sight of it. It was more beautiful than he ever imagined it to be. She must have caught on to it, because she let out a small nervous squeal in the back of her throat. 

Jamie’s head jerked up quicker than ever, “You ok, Mei?! Need to stop?!” 

She blushed, flattered by how attentive to her comfort he was, “N-no, I’m sorry. It’s just been such a long time for me. I-I feel like.. I don’t know, self conscious I guess.” She covered her face with embarrassment, “I’m sorry! I’m killing the moment! Sorry!”

He immidenty reached out to her, leaning over her and pulling her hands away from her face, “No! You aren’t! You ARE the moment, snowflake.” He smiled at her, “Ya just...took my breath away is all. You are...really beautiful.”

Mei’s face blushed, her heart raced in her chest. “You think so…? I don’t want to ruin anything..”

He smirked down at her, “I know so. You could never ruin anything. You are right as rain, darl.” 

He let his organic hand slither down her body as he used his other hand to position himself on top of her. Locking his eyes on hers as he felt his way down to her opening, making sure she completely comfortable. She spread her legs slightly for him, allowing him to feel down to her entrance and slowly sink his finger inside. 

She closed her eyes tightly, her body tensing up. He used his other hand to caress her hair. 

“You ok, Darl?” he asked softly. 

“Y-yes I’m ok.”

“You are tightening up quite a bit there...you need to stop?”

“N-no just a little nervous.”

He nodded, still trying to feel his way completely inside of her. She was wet, but her muscles were still too tense. He needed to help her even more. He kissed her cheek softly, pulling himself from off of her and moving down between her legs. She gasped, realizing what his next intentions were. She had never had a man go down on her before, and Jamison was very adamant on making sure she had a great, relaxing experience. He wanted to focus completely on her and her pleasure. 

He laid down on his stomach, placing his head between her thighs. His was intoxicated by sight of her. He breathed in softly, taking in the smell and the sight, it was so sweet, so cute. The tips of his hair egngihted even more, which showed Mei that he was very excited. She blushed, anticipating his next move.

He turned his hand inside of her, facing the palm of his hand upwards. He used his other had to grasp on to her thick, soft thigh, and spread her legs slightly furthering apart. He then licked his lips, eyes darting back up to her, glowing gold with desire and hunger. She gulped, gripping the sheets tightly within her hands. 

He moved in, running the tip of his tongue down her thighs and leading himself to the lips of her opening. He looked back up to her as he moved his tongue swiftly from his finger up to her clit, flicking it slightly in the process. Her toes curled, and she let a small moan escape her mouth, causing him to wear a devilish smile on his face. He focused his tongue back on to her, working her clit softly as he continued to try and wiggle his finger deeper inside her. 

The wet warmth from his tongue completely overtook her. It was a sensation she had never felt before in her whole life. In the past, the men she was with never even offered to provide her with such an experience, but then again Jamison was different in a lot of ways from those men. Or any man she had ever met for that matter. 

Her taste was indescribable. It was so sweet, yet so savory. It was so refreshing and mesmerizing. It was like nothing else he ever have or ever will taste. He wanted it to linger on his tongue forever, never leaving his palette. It was her taste, and there was nothing like it anywhere else. 

“Mmmh.” He moaned, pulling himself deeper into her, taking in her sweetness even more. 

She blushed and uttered a larger moan, heels pulling in and wrapping her legs even tighter around him, causing him to be pulled even deeper into her. He loved it; being trapped between her thick thighs. He looked up to her, eyes half closed, with a dreamy, far away look on his face. His tongue still working her clit. He was in heaven. 

He could feel her getting wetter around his finger, as well as her muscles loosening up. He took this chance and slowly pushed his finger in completely, causing Mei to release a small high-pitched gasp of pleasure. He kissed her even more, curling his finger upward and began to work her from the inside with a rhythmic pace.

He watched her as she squirmed on top of her sheets, biting onto her finger to avoid any loud outburst; but her wanted to hear her. He wanted to make her moan, maker her scream. He wanted her to lose herself in the pleasure he was trying to give her. That was the point. 

Finally, he couldn’t take her holding herself back any further. As much as he didn’t want to, he brought his lips away from her sweet taste, and positioned himself overtop of her again, still keeping his finger deep inside her. He used his other hand to brush her hand away from her mouth, settling it under her chin and pressing on either side of her cheeks, causing her mouth to open slightly. When her mouth opened, a long, soft moan was freed from her lips. He smirked. Looking down at her blushing, dazed face. The strands of hair from her bun messily falling in to her face. Her plump lips shimmered with small specs of drool she couldn’t hold back. And it was all from him. He did that to her. 

He felt a small glimmer of pride bubble up inside him, as he licked his lips, savoring her taste, “You taste really good, Snowflake, you know that? Better than I ever hoped.”

She responded with a soft, long, moan.

“Oh ya don’t know that? Hmm?” He giggled, “Well here, lemme show ya.”

He pulled her lips to his, kissing her mouth deeply. She tasted herself on his tongue as it slipped inside her mouth, encircling itself around hers. Her whole brain began to fog, her eyes began to flutter closed as she kissed him back, bringing her hand up behind his head and pulling him in even deeper. Her fingers danced through his soft hair. He squeezed her chin, pulling her in close. A small moan gargled in the back of his throat. 

He wasn’t sure if making her taste herself was taking it too far. He was never good at reading the moment. He was losing himself in her the more he tasted her, the more he felt her. He would stop in an instant if she ever showed any signs of discomfort. He trusted that Mei would let him know. She was a little spitfire; she never took any crap from him, and never let anyone walk all over her. She was so sweet and so caring, but god, when she got tough and tried to put him in her place...he loved that about her.

Meanwhile, he began to quicken his pace, pushing his finger even deeper inside of her. She pulled away from the kiss, unable to hold back a sharp-pleasured filled gasp from escaping her. He smirked down at her, his cheeks flushing red. 

“I found your sweet spot, huh ice queen?” He smiled, working that spot more and more. 

“P-Please.” She uttered, practically out of breath, “Dont stop.”

“I gotcha snowflake.” He smiled, kissing down her neck and positioning himself back between her legs. He worked that spot even more, and quickly went back to suckling on her sweet clit. 

She moaned even louder, her hips squirming underneath his mouth. She could suddenly feel the shocks of pleasure growing more intense; running up her spine and filling her brain with sparks and fireworks. She gripped the sheets tighter, completely unaware of just how loud she was being. But she couldn’t hold it back, no matter how hard she tried. The evil Australian Junker had her wrapped around his finger; pulling at the strings and working her body like putty. He had her completely in his control. His warmth overtaking her from the inside out; warmer than ever before. 

She soon felt it at the base of her spine, a large shock of pleasure that shot itself through every muscle and vein in her whole body. Her whole body began to tremble and shake, building up to a huge release. 

“J-Jamie! I-I’m about to-” she moaned. His eyes darted up to her face, watching intently, as they curved with his smile. He quickened his pace once more, lapping up her sweet juices and bringing her closer to her release. He gripped her waist, holding it in place as he completely took her in his mouth, using his finger to work her sweet spot a little harder. She unknowingly grasped onto his hair, pulling him deeper into her, causing him to growl. 

She soon felt it. Her back arched upwards, and she let out a soft, scream of pleasure. Tears building up in her eyes and trickling down her cheeks. It had been a while since she felt something like this, then again, it was never quite like this. It felt like...an explosion. 

His warmth consumed her, leaving all the muscles in her body feeling fuzzy and numb. Soon, her whole body felt weak. She fell to the bed, eyes closed and chest heaving with every breath she took. Jamison kissed the side of her thighs gently, as he pulled himself out of her, causing her to release one last, soft moan. 

He smiled, licking his finger clean. He then kissed up her body, crawling over top of her soft, glowing form. He held himself above her, looking down at her face. She opened her eyes and looked back up at him; the look in her eyes caused his heart to skip in his chest. That single moment caused him to feel something even stronger for her than he had ever felt before. 

A feeling that made him want to start all over and devote himself to giving her this pleasure every day for the rest of his life. A feeling he couldn’t put into words. So he didn’t. He just stared down at her, taking her in. 

She giggled, “I...feel a lot better. Thank you”

He giggled lightly back, “T-That’s good as gold, darl. I-I’m glad.”

She suddenly looked a little nverous again, “D-do you need me to…?”

He looked perplexed for a moment than understood, shaking his head no quickly, “N-no Darl. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I’m actually….I’m feeling pretty good just like this. T-that was amazing.”

She smiled at him sweetly.

They weren’t sure what to say. It was something so drastic from where they started off. Not once did she ever expect to be in this situation with him, but she didn’t regret it. She breathed in, her whole body reached a level of relaxation that no number of bath bombs or spa music could ever fulfill. The warmth still lingered inside her; giving her a soft glowing comfort that put her at such peace. 

He flopped down on the bed next to her, wrapping his arm around her torso, and nuzzling his face in her hair. The sweet smell of her shampoo mixed with the salty smell of her sweat gave him such bliss. He closed his eyes, breathing in that scent. He thoughtlessly started to hum a soft melody to her; so consumed by how happy he was to even notice. 

She smiled, letting the sweet sound of his off-key harmony take her away. She drifted off to sleep, embraced by his warmth.


	7. Chapter 7

The sunlight seeped through the window, pulling Mei out of her deep sleep. Her eyes fluttered open. The warmth still lingered on her skin, and her muscles were still humming from the surprising outcomes of last night.

She suddenly came across the realization that after she had fallen back asleep, it was the first time in a very long while she didn't have unsettling dreams that made her toss and turn. She smiled. It was refreshing. Perhaps that release was something she really needed after all. 

She turned her head to see Junkrat still snoring next to her, his arm draped over her torso and a small unflattering stream of droll dripping down his chin. He must have thrown off his prosthetics in the middle of the night. His mechanical arm and peg leg were scattered on the floor below them without a care. She giggled; even in his sleep his personality really showed. 

Stretching her whole body, attempting to readjust herself in a more comfortable position, she was suddenly tugged closer to him. A small, childish, agitated moan gargled in his throat. There was no escaping his grasp even if she wanted to.

"Come on Roadie, ya big cunt, please lemme buy one...just..one." He hummed in his sleep, "They look so yummy..." he buried his face deeper into Mei's side. 

She bit her lip trying to suppress her giggles. As much as he loved to talk, it was no surprise to her that he was a sleep talker. 

"Why don't you just steal it?" Mei suggested in a soft whisper to his sleeping form. His face contorted into a scowl. 

"Nooo!" He whined, tightening his grip on her, "We can't....We have gone legit Roadie...straight...n-no stealin....Mei wouldn't like that...." 

He smiled, nuzzling up against her, "Mei..." he breathed dreamily. 

She gasped, watching him as his sleepy smile grew larger. 

"She's somethin else Roadie...a real ace gal...ya know? Ya jealous?" He giggled lightly. 

Her face glowed red. She ran her hands slowly through this hair as he cuddled up even more. 

"She goes alright...quite the looker..." He sloppily licked his lips, "And don't even get me started on those tits...wow the-AHGGH!" 

His sweet slumber was cut short by a swift slap in the face with Mei's pillow. He scrambled up in his spot; animal instincts kicking in, trying to get a feel for his surroundings. 

"WHAT?! WHO?! Where am I?!" He screeched, eyes twitching wildly. He stopped at the drop of a hat upon seeing Mei. She was giving him her trademark scowl he was so use to, clearly expressing she heard something she didn't want to hear. He looked right past it however, smiling at her, admiring her messy hair and blushed cheeks. 

"Oi! H-hey Mei! Sorry bout' that. Caught me off guard for a second there. Ya lookin' nice this fine morning." He blinked. The gears in his brain suddenly started to turn. "Wait a tick...if I'm here...t-then that means." He quickly covered half of his face with her sheets, trying to hide the red in his cheeks, "Hooly dooly. It wasn't a dream..."

She opened her mouth to shoot him a nasty remark, still fuming a bit from hearing his gross comment about her chest, but she suddenly realized what he had said, and saw the look on his face. His eyes sparkling wide at her with wonder. His cheeks beaming with color. The way his fingers danced anxiously on the edges of the fabric. He was star struck. In awe.

"Y-yes." She stuttered, "W-we may have gotten into uhm.. a little something last night." 

He gasped. Pulling down the sheets to reveal a huge goofy smile plastered on his face. The same smile she got from him when they first arrived. It had a comical air about it, being from Junkrat, but there was something sincere in that smile. Something that made her heart jump just a bit.

"Wow." He whispered, running his hand through his hair, dropping the sheet completely. "Seemed all too good to be true. Can't believe it really happened."

She blushed, raising an eyebrow at him curiously, "Too good to be true?"

"Too right! Being in cahoots with the prettiest gal in Overwatch! It was wow...Amazing. Hah! A-Mei-zing! Get it?!" He winked. 

She was too taken aback by his remark to even acknowledge his terrible pun. "Amazing...but...I didn't really...uh..do anything for you." She fiddled her fingers anxiously. He stared back at her as if she were crazy. Which really felt strange coming from him. 

"Didn't do-?! What are ya talkin about snowflake?! Being with you is all that really mattered! Crickey! Got ta do something I had been dreaming abo-" He quickly clasped his hand over his mouth to stop himself from blabbering any further. Unfortunately it was a failed attempt. Mei's face grew an even deeper shade of red.

"Dreaming about?! Doing that?! To...Me?!" She became increasingly flustered by the moment, stammering mandarin to herself frantically. 

Junkrat however could understand all of it. A lot of her rambling revolved around the disbelief that anyone would imagine doing that with her in the first place. It didn't make him feel any better for letting that thought slip from his mouth. 

"Heh. Well...don't see how it's too hard to believe Ice Queen. Ya are quite a charmer ya know?" He rubbed the back of head.

"I-I'm just...well..ugh! I don't know!" She buried her face in her hands. 

Jamison took notice of her flustered behavior and smirked; there was something about it that really excited him. She was just too cute to handle. He began to slowly crawl over to her side of the bed, as well as a man with one arm could do, and positioned himself on top of her. She gasped as he grabbed one of her wrists and lightly pinned it to the bed frame, causing her gaze to shift up to him. His smile was wide and devilish, his eyes narrowed down at her. He slithered down to her level, bringing his face to hers causing her to catch her breath, anticipating his next move. The smell of gasoline lingered in the air around them; surprisingly, it calmed her. She felt herself becoming weak.

 

"Ain't nothin surprising about that to me. Why a gal like you could charm just about anyone. Prettiest face I've seen in a long while."

"B-but." She stammered nervously. Her mind felt clouded and her gaze unintentionally fell to his lips. "Even when I was harsh to you...? And rude? And..."

He snickered, quickly interrupting her. "Thought we went over this hundreds of times already."

"Well-"

"I loved it."

"Huh?!"

"You're one tough sheila...love the way ya boss me around..you can put me in my place any day. God knows I deserve it. You being that way ta me was probably somethin I needed." His eyes glowed and flickered wildly. "I love that little fire ya got burning down in that soft icey body. You are fierce." He licked his lips playfully, "And ya taste better than I ever imagined."

Her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out. Just silence. Her hands grabbed at the sheets beneath her, trying to keep a grip on reality. Nothing felt real. To be under Jamison in such a way. To hear these words coming from him. All about her. As the words rolled off his tongue, shocks and shivers shot up and down her spine. She almost felt embarrassed; it was as if she was a young college girl again. Her mind fumbling and tripping over his every desire. Her head was spinning, unable to come to a stop. It was a rush. 

"You ok there snowflake?" He whispered to her, running his lips across her neck and up to her jawline. "Not use to hearing such flattery? Now that's a surprise. But hey...I'll flatter you any day, love. Day or night. It would be my pleasure. Or are ya nervous again?" He giggled lightly, sending more chills coursing through her veins. 

"Need me to calm those nerves again, Mei?" He whispered against her skin. 

She didn't know how to feel. What to say. It was all happening so fast all over again. It had been so long since she had been this way with anyone. Let alone with Jamison. From how they started and where they ended up, she couldn't help but wonder, were things moving too quickly? It was just a small fling, a hook up, however, there was something about being with him that left her feeling different than she had with others. She was flustered, and nervous. She clenched on to the sheets even tighter as a mix of anxiety and desire overtook her.

Jamison was never good at reading situations. His criminal and survivalist lifestyle molded him into who is now, someone who saw something he liked and took it. He knew in his heart if she asked to stop he would in an instant. He wanted Mei more badly than he wanted anything else in a while, but he also treasured her. She was different than anything else he had ever desired. But he couldn't feel her anxiety, and she herself couldn't decide what she truly wanted. So much change, happening so quickly, and all at once. 

She gulped, finally opening her mouth to voice her anxiety, as he kissed up to her cheek. Her words never left her lips; she was suddenly cut off by a loud growling noise exhaling from her stomach. 

Jamison stopped, pulling his lips away from her and looking at her with a flat expression. She couldn't help but blush, slowing bringing her hand up to her lips to hide her embarrassment. 

He stared at her for a bit longer before finally erupting into a laughing fit. 

"Saved by the bell, aye darl?!" He poked her stomach playfully as he hoisted himself off of her.

She crossed her arms, pouting at him, face still glowing with embarrassment, "L-look I didn't eat any dinner last night ok!?"

"I get it! I get it!" He giggled as he scooted himself to the edge of the bed, picking up his peg leg from the floor. "Let's get ya some breckie. Don't want ya starving or anything. Been there, done that, and it ain't a good feelin."

She watched him from her spot on the bed as he started to strap the peg leg into place, biting her lip nervously. She wasn't ready to walk out the door; fearing the fact that other people may see. To her it had nothing to do with the fact it was with Jamison, but she was always a little secretive about her intimate life. She felt embarrassed whenever her friends would start talking about their sexual experiences. She wasn't ashamed of her sexuality, but she wasn't open about it either. And the fact they were currently on a trip with not only her friends but her work companions, she still wanted to maintain a professional manner about herself. 

"Hey Jamie?" 

"Yes, love?" He answered happily.

"Do you mind if we...keep this between us?"

He stopped, grip loosening on the straps. He couldn't put his finger on it at first, but those words stabbed right through him. He thought to himself that he shouldn't have been surprised. A beautiful girl like Mei doing raunchy things with a dirty rat like him, he told himself he should have known she would be embarrassed.

"I-I'm sorry I'm just not ready-" she began.

"R-right. Nah it's fine." He went back to tightening his straps, then proceeded to reach for his mechanical arm, "Don't have ta make this a serious thing love, I'm just happy I could be with ya." 

 

It was the truth, to him that's all he needed. He was happy just to be in her presence, especially considering he never imagined he would have the chance to do that with her in the first place. The words still left a small stinging feeling in his heart however. 

She frowned at the realization of how her words must have sounded, and took notice of Jamison's now sullen behavior. Her anxiety finally subsided, and she knew in her heart what she wanted; it was all just so new. 

"H-hey." She called out to him. He perked up, turning to face her. 

She blushed and shot him a soft, delicate smile, "I had a really fun time. Maybe...we can do it again sometime?" 

His heart practically jumped out of his body. All the fears and hurt melted away in an instant. His lips turned into a crooked smile and Mei swore for a moment she could see his eyes sparkle.

"Y-yeah Snowflake. I would love that." He breathed dreamily, not taking his eyes off of her. 

They sat I silence for a while, just smiling at one another, up until Mei couldn't hold in her giggles. He snapped out of his trance and laughed with her and took her hand, guiding her out of bed, twirling her like a princess and pulling her into a close embrace. 

Everything he did was over the top, even small gestures like that. She couldn't help but smile. 

\-----

When Mei and Jamison rounded the corner to the living room, they quickly took notice of the silence. Even though the morning sun was shining through the windows, lighting up the whole house, there was a dark aura that overtook it. 

Mei tapped Jamison's arm, gesturing him to remain silent by placing a finger to her lips. She pointed over to a small cuddle pile in the living room. Lucio and Brigette had placed themselves on either side of Hana, and they were all sleeping soundly on the floor. Mercy hovered overtop of them, lightly placing a giant blanket over their bodies. She looked down at them sadly, softly caressing their heads. The look on her face made Mei's stomach turn in fear. It was clear that even Mercy, who typically kept a calm demeanor about her, was concerned of what was to come. 

Their focus was broken by Ana, who softly tip toed over to them with a warm smile on her face. She shook a small packet pinched in her fingers, that caused Jamison's face to light up with excitement. It was Bobba tea, Jamison's favorite. She smiled, leading Jamison over to the kitchen where she quietly prepared two mugs, giving one to him while he danced quietly in place. He was such a child when it came to most things, and Ana tended to entertain that. She was a mother at heart who loved to spoil her "children". He expressed his gratitude by placing a small kiss on her forehead. She held her hand to her heart, appreciating his gesture. 

Mei took her mug and breathed in the warm, sweet strawberry scent. When she opened her eyes she caught sight of Jack, who was positioned out on the front porch overlooking the water. A cup of coffee was secured in his grip, but he was still. Almost like a statue, deep in thought. Mercy made her way past her, opening the front door and joining him out on the porch. They both looked on, starting a conversation with one another. It was clear what they were talking about though, and it felt uneasy. Unsettling.

"Both probably aren't looking forward to seeing their exes again.." Mccree whispered next to her, also observing them from the kitchen. Ana frowned, giving Mccree a swift smack on the arm. 

"Watch yourself Jesse." She scolded him.

"Yes M'mam." He winced, rubbing his arm. Some things never do change. 

As Jamison began to savor the first sip of his tea, he took notice to Roadhog who was sitting in the screened in porch all by himself. Roadhog looked back at him, waving him over to join him. 

"Roadie must have missed me." He whispered to Mei as he made his way over.

He closed the door behind him as he entered the porch, greeting Roadhog with his trademark, sparkling smile. Roadhog didn't seem to budge or react; he sat still, observing as Jamie made he way over and plopped down in the seat next to him. 

"Heya big guy! Couldn't stand ta be without me? Aw too swee-"

"You weren't in your room last night." Roadhog interrupted.

Jamie raised an eyebrow suggestively, "Hm. Guess I wasn't."

"What did I say about running off?"

"You've been more of a babysitter than a bodyguard lately, Mr nosey pants."

"Cut the crap Jamison."

"Yeah! I was just a little busy." He stretched, folding his arms behind his head as he laid back in his seat, wearing a devilish smirk. "Keepin someone else a little busy too while I was at it. If ya know what I mean." His gaze shifted to Mei who was still conversing with the others in the kitchen.

Roadhog took notice, and almost felt himself want to throw up at the thought of it. "You're joking."

"Hm? Ya jealous?" 

"Didn't think you would make it that far." 

"Eh?! Wow real swell of ya mate! Ya think real highly of your best pal don't ya?! Breaking my heart, ya are. Well whatever. You're just jealous I got ta go down on an ace gal like her. Ya should've seen her all-"

Roadhog quickly raised his hand to Jamison's face, "Enough. Don't wanna hear it."

"Hmmmm, are ya sure!? I'm sure you could really get off at the idea of it. Worried you'll get too excited? Too worked up?" Jamie slithered over, pressing his forehead up against Roadhog's mask as his spoke. His obnoxiousness was bearable most of the time, but when it came to subjects like this, it was too much for Mako to handle. Mako clenched his fist, cracking his knuckles in the process to show Jamison he meant business. 

"I'm not fucking around." He growled, sending Jamie scurrying back to his seat. He wanted to avoid another punch like last night; his nose began to ring with pain just thinking about it. 

"Right! Well UHM." He coughed, "Your loss then!"

Roadhog grumbled to himself, slowly lowering his fist to his lap. 

"But ya know Roadie!" Jamison continued, "She really is something."

"Here we go..." Mako mumbled under his breath. 

"She ain't like other girls, especially the ones in the outback. She smells so much better too! Sweet! Like candies and cream!" He turned backwards in his chair to face her through the window. "She's special..."

"She's just another girl, Rat."

"No she ain't! She makes me feel somethin Roadie. I thought those blokes who put their lady friends above fame, fortune and glory were always so full of it. Missin out! But god I tell ya what, she's got me thinking things differently. She's in my head Roadie. All the time!" He sighed dreamily, resting his head in his hand as he continued to watch her, "Just look at her. She's a looker, alright. A real jackpot." 

Mei felt someone staring at her. She turned to see Jamie gawking at her through the window. She gave him a small smile and a polite wave back. He returned the gesture, waving back to her like a love struck fool. 

"....Don't let her get in your way."

"What?!" He turned, shooting Mako a perplexed look. 

"In battle. Don't let it get in your way. Your feelings."

"Don't know what you're going on about mate.." he scowled, almost feeling somewhat offended. 

"I'm gunna have to save your ass in the end. When we are out there I'm watching over you. Got it? Don't give me any trouble by throwing yourself in front of her or making any stupid decisions over a girl. God knows you can make them just fine on your own." 

"How bout this?" Jamison growled, eyebrows knitted close together, "You do what your fucking boss says. 50 percent, remember? If I say jump you should say how high. And right now I'm sayin if she's in trouble you look out for her too, got it?"

Roadhog sat silent for a moment, then finally answered, "That's not what you pay me for. That's not the deal." He then proceeded to crack open his paperback novel, reading to himself as if Jamison wasn't present. That didn't settle well with Jamie. He felt his skin fuming with anger. 

"Yeah?! Well! Looks like you will just have to watch my crazy ass while I look after her myself!" He scooped up his tea and barged out of the porch, leaving Roadhog on his own. 

It was the reaction Roadhog had expected from him, so it didn't bother him much at all. He was happy for Jamison. He was glad he felt so strongly toward someone and got to experience things he wouldn't quite get to in the Outback. However he also knew how Jamison could be. He had trouble focusing or thinking things through. Part of him even wondered if that small ice girl would need protecting in the first place; she was feisty enough. 

Being Jamison's friend, Hog was happy for him, and was silently cheering him on from the sidelines. As his employed bodyguard, Hog wanted him to remain cautious. So much could be lost in an instant if things weren't thought through properly. Mako was very aware Jamison was prone to that, and also very aware of the consequences of making poor decisions. 

A small pain shot through his chest upon thinking about it. Even though Roadhog tried to kill off the old Mako Rutledge as much as he could, sometimes a small part of him would come out just remind him that he was still alive. Deep deep down. 

He sighed. Closing the book in his lap and peering out the window. The waves were slowly crashed on the shoreline, carrying the ocean breeze along with them. Roadhogs eyes glazed over as he took in the sights. The way the golden sun reflected off the water. The sand catching in the wind. How beautiful she looked. He remembered how much she loved the ocean, always egging him on to take the trip with her to the beach on their free weekends. It was how she got away. Her husband never noticed she was gone. He never noticed her at all. And when he did, it was also when he decided to let out all his anger. Forcing it on to her with hateful words and flying fists. Mako wanted to take her away. Steal her away and give her all the love he could. She would never do that though; she still loved her husband deep down, or at least the husband she imagined him to always be. And her son. She could never leave him. 

But when they did get away. Even just for a weekend. She felt alive. It was just enough to keep her going and recharge her for the week to come; he was fortunate enough to be there and see her in that state. She was beautiful. And she was gone. All because he didn't think it through. All because of his stupid actions. They were all gone.

He snapped out of his trance and grumbled to himself, clenching his chest tightly. He could never quite control when the memories came. And when they did, they felt so real. He hated it. He hated to be reminded. He tossed his book down on the side table and made his way out of the porch. Perhaps a nap would help. Anything to shut the old Mako Rutledge up.

\-----

The rest of the day was very....quiet.

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, all preparing for what was to come in their own way. 

Mccree cleaned his gun quietly. Genji meditated on the front porch for what felt like hours. Lucio and Hana were sharing headphones, listing to Lucio's most recent album in silence. Torbjourn had spent the day setting up and building turrets along various parts of the beach, hoping to slow down any forces coming their way, even just for a minute. Brigette began preparing armor packs for the team and also working on her own personal shield. 

 

Mei wasn't quite sure what to do with her time. Her freeze gun could already be fueled by the moisture in the air. And she had already finished any preparations that needed to be done. She sat fidgeting on the kitchen, picking at the stems of the grapes Ana had set out for her. She felt like she needed to do something, anything. She didn't feel ready for what was to come, but knew deep down they never would be. 

She was strangely surprised by how calm Jamison was about the situation. Not that she believed he would be worried or scared, but rather surprised by the fact he wasn't at least excited to blow up Talon agents. He sat on the stool next to her, head rested in his hand, quietly watching her fingers and they fiddled with the stems; breaking them, tying them into knots, twisting them. He eventually got tired of watching and softly grabbed her hand, causing her to jump in her spot. 

"Ya need some fresh air." He told her, very matter of fact.

She stammered to herself in mandarin for a second, trying to collect her thoughts, then was suddenly pulled off her seat and dragged behind him as they made their way out to the front porch. 

"Lets go for a walk." 

As they made their way out, they were greeted by commander Morrison, who was still glued to the same spot he had been all day. The only difference being his cup of coffee was now switched out for a small glass of whiskey. 

"Stay in sight you too. Don't wonder off. If you go to far I'll call you back." He ordered.

"Ain't going far, strike commanda. Just walkin up to the shore is all." Jamison lead Mei down the stairs as Jack watched them walk hand in hand silently. 

"Right." He acknowledged before going back to keeping watch. 

When Mei reached the shoreline, she looked out of the water and took notice of the setting sun. The day flew by much quicker than she had thought; though she knew it felt that way because she was stuck in her own mind most of the time. She took a deep breath, taking in the sweet salty air. It was nice to step out for a bit; the air in the house was getting heavy from all of the vibrations her weary teammates were sending off. She found it funny how Jamison knew yet again what quick fix she needed to calm her nerves. He lifted a weight off her shoulders yet again, even if it was a very small one. 

"You ok there, darl?" He broke the silence, "You were getting mighty antsy back there again."

"Heh. Well, how can you not?" She chuckled nervously, "There's so much that's about to happen. I don't understand how you are so calm right now honestly." 

"Eh." He shrugged, "What happens, happens. I always go by that when it comes to battles and junk."

"I know that." She adjusted her glasses as she continued to watch the sun set, "I'm just surprised your not at least excited. You are always off the walls when we are about to go on missions."

"Kinda hard to be all bright n' cheery when my best gal is down in the dumps. Don't feel super sunshiney knowing it's somethin that bothers ya." 

"That's..." she blushed, "strangely considerate."

"What can I say?" He winked, "I'm a considerate kinda guy." 

She couldn't help but laugh. She had to give him credit, he was really good at making her laugh even in tough moments like these; that's something she never really took time to realize about him before. 

"Yeah. Modest too." She continued. She slipped her flip flops off and slowly walked to the edge of the water, letting waves softly brush against her skin. Jamison joined in, kicking his boot off to the side and dipping his foot into the water, letting out a sigh of relief. 

"That's the stuff." He sighed dreamily. 

Mei looked down, taking notice of the black coloring of his toenails. "You painted your toes too?" 

"Yeah!" He wiggled his toes in the water, kicking up sand along with them, "Ya like em?"

"It's really cute!"

"I can paint yours sometime too if you'd like! I got plenty of polish!"

"Yeah, id like that." She giggled. When she thought about leaving the beach, going back to base, and spending nights together, laughing and painting each others nails, she felt a small uneasy tug in her chest. "If we make it back home..." she said sadly. 

"You gotta get that out of your head snowflake. You are dooming yourself by thinking like that."

"I'm trying to be realistic."

"You're bein bleak."

"But if you look at the odds of-"

"'IF we make it back home.' And 'I'm not gunna be able to protect em.' Sounds like you already made up your mind of what's gunna happen." 

"Jamison! All I'm doing is-!"

"You can make your own fate, snowflake." He reached out and lightly grasped her hand, causing her heart to skip. "There ain't no higher power or big man in the sky already deciding that fate for you. Things aren't just already etched in stone before you make the first blow. It all depends on what you decide to do. YOU. Going into this mess already thinking your gunna lose aint gunna do shit for ya. And yeah, I can admit. It will be a mess. But you are strong. This whole lot of us is pretty strong. You can put up a fight."

She sighed, closing her eyes and letting the wind dance through her hair. He was right. Part of her did not want to admit that. She never expected in a million years to gain any wisdom from her junker coworkers, and perhaps they had more wisdom to share than even they knew themselves. There had been plenty of times in the past that she replayed over and over in her mind, wondering to herself how she even made it out alive. She should have been dead plenty of times before, but she made it, despite all of her fears and doubts, she fought and stayed alive. She did not know what to make of it. She did not know personally if there was a higher power looking over her. She wanted to believe his statement that her destiny was open for her to form herself, but part of her also wondered if she was kept alive because there was a purpose meant for her that she had yet to fulfill. 

Then she thought of them, and the familiar pain she always felt when she thought of them rang through her body. She should have been long gone with them. There may not be a higher power that she knew of; nothing that science has yet to find evidence of, but something within her was driving her to survive, even when she didn’t realize it. She may never know. But she did know deep in her heart that they were looking after her, in some way. She felt them with her in that moment as she speculated these thoughts. She gripped her shirt tightly where her heart was, and took another deep breath, letting the salty air flood her lungs. Jamison watched her in silence, assuming she was collecting her thoughts or pondering his words. He gave her hand a light squeeze, causing her gaze to shift to him quickly. He smiled down at her sweetly, watching as the light glowed against her pale skin. She smiled back.

“I guess I have been lucky many times before. I-I...suppose I don’t see how this time could be different.” She admitted.

“Luck won’t be the thing that gets us through this time, love. I’ll make sure you’ll make it out...Swear it.”

“That’s a pretty big promise.” She laughed nervously. 

“I talk a pretty big game most of the time...But this time I mean it. Every word.”

“Let’s hope you aren’t all bark.” She teased. 

“Oi! Trust in me, Ice Queen! Enough of this doom and gloom from ya! You need ta cool down!” 

“Don’t you tell ME I need to coo-AGH! JAMIE!” 

She was interrupted by a sudden splash of cool seawater bouncing off her skin, and a cackling laughter emitting from a culpable Jamison Fawkes. She looked at him with shock as she lightly peeled the now sopping fabric from her skin; he simply responded with a smirk and an animated shrug.

“Oops! Did I do that?” he giggled.

She scowled at him, expression soon turning into a wicked smile as she returned the favor by reeling her leg back and kicking a giant spray of water right back at him. He shielded himself, laughing even louder as he splashed right back, and her back at him, and him to her. They were carrying on for the longest time, egging each other on and seeing who’s splash had the biggest impact. Their laughter echoed through the air; carrying on as if they were the only ones in the whole world. It felt nice. It felt freeing. Mei forgot all of her fears in that moment. The spray of the water reflected off the sun; it looked magical, like shooting stars soaring around them. She did not realize how much she had been laughing; Jamison however couldn’t look away. The feeling he got seeing her in such a carefree state was like no other. It was breathtaking.  
He was so distracted by her laughter that he suddenly became caught off guard by her final attack. She scooped up water into both hands and launched it at him with full force. He squealed, stumbling backwards. As he fumbled back, his peg leg wedged itself deep into the sand, sending him flying onto his back, and into the water. 

Mei gasped, running over frantically, “JAMIE! Are you okay?! Oh my gosh oh my-I’m so sorry! I’m sorry!” 

Jamison sat himself up, completely soaked, head to toe. He stared blankly for a sec, unsure how to react or what had even just happened. His silence and blank expression sent Mei into an even larger panic. 

“Are you hurt?! Are you okay?!” She coward over him, hands pressed against her shocked face. 

He suddenly snorted, and broke out into maniac laughter, holding on to his stomach tightly as he tried to catch his breath. Mei let out a sigh of relief. She was so glad she didn’t hurt him, she wouldn’t know what she would have done if she did. 

“Ehhhh-heheheh Couldn’t count the number of times I wished I could take a refreshing dip during those long, hot Oz days. Be careful what ya wish for I guess! Hahaha!” He chuckled.   
“I’m just glad I didn’t hurt you! I’m sorry about that.”

“No need ta be sorry! What a swing ya got there, snowflake!” 

She bent over and reached out to help him up. For a moment he just stared at her. The glow of the setting sun reflecting of the cool droplets of water coating her skin. Her damp hair sticking lightly to her cheeks. As well as the way her wet shirt clinged to her body. She was absolutely stunning.

“Wow…” He breathed, reaching out and taking her hand.

“Heh, What’s wow? Everything ok?” She hoisted him up out of the water as he continued to just stare at her beautiful form. He wanted to keep staring at her like this forever. 

He finally broke his own silence, “Can I kiss you?” He asked softly. 

Her heart jumped. Her eyes sparkled with awe as she looked back up at him. His cheeks flushed red as he awaited her response patiently. He was not keen on waiting, but for her, he could wait a thousand lifetimes. She was worth it. She was worth everything. 

Mei responded with a light nod as she continued to lock eyes with him, her heart pounding in her chest. She found it to be odd; just last night they were taking part in lewd activities with one another. But there was something about him asking for a simple kiss under the setting sun that made her feel completely frozen. Her knees felt weak beneath her as he moved in, eyes locked on her lips. Just as his lips drew closer to her, a jolting scream could be heard in the distance. Mei froze, quickly grasping on to Jamison’s arm, pushing him to a stop. His eyes narrowed with confusion, as the rest of the world around him started to pull into focus. He noticed the sudden turn in Mei’s face; her skin grew pale, and her eyes were widened with fear. 

“Jamie..” She stuttered weakly as everything came flooding in within that instant. 

“GET INSIDE SOLDIERS! EVERYONE TO THEIR STATIONS. READY YOURSELVES!” Soldier screamed over the beach. 

Jamison turned his gaze to the sun, a small collection of dark specs hovered into view. Mei watched as well, tugging at his arm to move. 

“Dropships!” She yelled, pulling Jamison from his spot, toward the house. Soldier’s final warning cry completely brought him into reality. 

“THEY’RE HERE.”


	8. Chapter 8

Unsettling silence to a complete frenzy. The energy of the beach home took a complete 180. Upon bursting into the front door, it was very apparent to Mei and Jamison that their comrades were well aware of what was happening. 

At every turn someone was running to either their teammates to help them assemble their armor or over to the case to gather their gear. They knew the fight was not going to be easy in the very least, but they were ready to give their all. 

Mei took notice of Angela, who was holding up her hair as Lena attached her wings to her back. The look on her face was fierce and focused. Being one of the original members of the Overwatch team, during the Omnic crisis and the fallout of Blackwatch, she was no stranger to these perils. The fire in her eyes filled Mei's heart with determination. She knew Mercy would keep a watchful eye over them, and she too wanted to project that feeling to her teammates as well. That she too would be watching over them. 

She took advantage of this newfound determination and directed herself to the case of supplies, scooping up her jacket and gear and latching it on to her body. She tightened the straps and rechecked her fuel for the 100th time. She was ready. A small whizzing buzz whooshed around her, as small snowball settled himself into her fuel case, prepared to fight alongside her. 

Jamison joined her, slipping on his fingerless gloves and hoisting his canisters and single rip tire onto his back. People often wondered how he could glide and scurry past enemies with ease with such a heavy device attached to him, but to him it was no burden at all. It felt natural, it felt right. To know when the going got tough, his precious creation would always make the biggest boom. 

Roadhog tapped his hook lightly on the spikes of his tire, gaining Jamison's attention. 

"Remember you only got one this time. No drop ship of ours around to go grab another. Use it wisely. Don't waste it." 

Jamie shot him a wicked smirk, "Ya talkin to me? Why, you should know bettah mate. Me? Make hasty decisions? Never." 

Although this face was not clearly visible, it was obvious that Roadhog was rolling his eyes behind his mask. 

As Jamison gathered up his mines and held one of his bombs in the palm of his hand. He stared down at it, feeling it on his skin as he wrapped his fingers tightly around it, the carefully hand painted smiley face staring back at him. Before he knew it, he was vibrating with excitement. The thought of the beautiful explosions his bombs would make. How they would send those filthy Talon agents flying. It drove him wild. He bit his lip trying to hold back his laughter. 

"Hey Mei." He squeaked. She turned to him. 

"Ya know that excited feeling you mentioned earlier? Well...I'm really startin ta feel it." He continued, turning to her with a wicked crooked smile, "Is that ok with you, love?"

She blinked at him, lips slowly turning into a smirk, "Hmm..You do work better that way, don't you? I don't see why not." 

His whole body shook with excitement as wild laughter erupted from his body. He danced in place and scooped up the rest of his ammo and frag launcher. It was true, as crazy as it seemed, he did work better when he was enthusiastic like this. It just seemed to work best for him. And it was clear to anyone who saw him in the field. It was scary and off-putting at times, but it worked. 

"OK SOLDIERS." Jack called out over the crowd, causing everyone to stop in their tracks, "Regardless of what goes down out there, be sure to stick with your designated healers. If they break us up, make sure not to leave a healer behind. Tanks, make sure your shields are ready and working at full potential. Double check and triple check before we go out there. We are counting on you once we encounter heavy fire."

He looked over the many faces looking back at him, all showing a mix of focus and worry. He sighed, "I don't know what will happen out there. All I know is Overwatch doesn't go down without a fight. I know for a fact you will give it your all. I've seen all of you in battle, and know you can give them hell, regardless of what they give us. Whatever happens, it's been an honor serving with you." He squared his shoulders, pulling himself up to his full height as he bellowed his last order, "SOLDIERS, TAKE YOUR POSITIONS." 

Everyone responded with a sharp, "Yes sir!" As they all gathered the rest of their gear and made their way to the door. A muttering Dva rounded the corner, wearing her bodysuit, fiddling with her handgun as she headed to the door with the rest of her comrades. She was, to her surprised, stopped before she even made it outside by a concerned Soldier 76.

"What do you think you're doing?" He demanded.

She looked up at him perplexed, waving her hand to the exit, "I'm joining my teammates, duh!" 

"No. You're not." He took her by the shoulders and guided her to the kitchen and out of everyone's path. 

She didn't take kindly to that response, immediately becoming defensive, "And why not?! I'm a part of Overwatch too!" 

"Hana you don't have your mech. Out there you are a walking target. Not to mention your shot isn't the strongest. You will get hurt." 

"Sensang-e!" She stomped her foot, shooting an angry glare up at him. "Are you forgetting I'm a literal WAR HERO?! I can take care of myself just fine, Jack!"

"You were fighting that war in your Mech, Hana. You don't have access to it at all. I think everyone would feel better if you just-"

"I don't care!" She stomped again, "I would feel better being there with my team! My friends!"

"I understand but-"

"You're always telling me what to do! You always treat me like a child! I may be the youngest but I'm just as capable as everyone else!" She didn't realize how loudly she was shouting. It was catching her teammates attention, causing them to stop and stare. 

"Hana! You're causing a scene! I know you are but for now it's best if you-"

"How do you know what's best for me?!" She gritted her teeth, "YOU'RE NOT MY DAD!" 

Soldier 76 fell silent, staring down at her with his eyebrows knitted tightly together. Saying that aloud caused a small sharp pain to shoot through her chest. She hated to say that. It pained her. Soldier had taken her in and watched over her after the devastating conditions the war left her home in. But she stood strong in her position in the matter. She was part of Overwatch, and even if it killed her, she wanted to be with her friends.

"You're staying here." He said, every word sharper than the next. "That isn't a suggestion. It's an order." 

He turned on his heel, marching to the door leaving Hana behind. She stood, mouth agape, eyes filling with tears and she tried to search for the smartest response. Nothing came out. She recoiled, biting her lip as she watched him exit the home. 

Her focus was broken by a small tap on her shoulder. Mei stood looking back at her with a worried look her face. Upon seeing her, it caused Dvas expression to soften. 

Mei frowned, holding out her hands to present snowball to her. "Please take him. If things go wrong...I want him to be here to look over you." 

Snowball scurried over to Hana's side, nuzzling himself into her arms. In return she pulled him to her chest with a soft hug. There was so much running through her head that she wanted to tell Mei, that she wanted to tell everyone, just in case things did go wrong. She wanted nothing to be left unsaid. But she couldn't muster up the words. 

She nodded as the tears pooled in her eyes, eventually spilling out. Mei reacted by holding her in her arms tightly. Nothing needed to be said. Just then she knew in her heart that was the case. 

Mei bent down giving snowball a small pat on the head, "Watch over her, my friend." And with that she turned away, joining the others on their way to the beach. Leaving Hana standing in the kitchen alone, gripping snowball close as she watched her friends fade out of sight.

 

\-------

Dr. Moria O'deorain always sought out her needs and desires with much valor. Whether it be the search for knowledge or the quest to seeing her enemies crushed, she always did everything with purpose. She craved the sense of achievement in every pursuit. But her favorite part above all was the chase.

Her hunt to end Overwatch and all they stood for began long long ago. Longer than most of the agents of Overwatch were even aware. To them, she was once a member of the Blackwatch division, aiding the team in the medical ward as well as in the field. Her research as a geneticist was going to help make a world a better place; but little did they know, that was never her intention, even from the start. 

She has always been loyal to Talon and their cause, even when she claimed to be loyal to Blackwatch. The information she gathered in the time she spent at Blackwatch was very valuable to Talon's long term goal of wiping Overwatch as a whole off the map. And today was the day she was going to witness it. Overwatch fell before, but they rose from the ashes, this time they would fall for good. 

She found herself to be very lucky to be able to see their demise first hand, but she had to admit, it felt bittersweet. Her lengthy chase was finally coming to an end. 

She watched from the dropship window, staring on to the oncoming beach. She uttered a dramatic sigh and she held her hand to her chest. This gained the attention of her dark cloaked comrade, Reaper, who cocked his head at her.

"Something eating at you, doc?" He grumbled in his low, haunting voice. 

"Oh it's nothing." She continued, "I just can't help but feel glum. I will miss our encounters with Overwatch. I will miss watching them squirm. It's like saying goodbye to an old friend, don't you think?"

He groaned at the thought of being remotely friendly with any of them again. "Good riddance." He spat. 

"Aw Gabriel, dear, you have to admit it is a little sad. You won't get to see your precious Jack any longer."

"He should have died years ago..."

Her face suddenly took a dark turn, "Speaking of our 'friends'...tell me...why are they all gathered in the shoreline...fully armed?" 

Sombra instantly leapt from her seat and pushed herself in front of Moria, pressing her face to the window. It was true, they were there and they were ready for them. She looked closer, noticing Junkrat and Mei, standing alongside their teammates, ready for their attack. She balled her fist and slammed it against the window frame, cursing in Spanish under her breath. 

"Sombra." Moria groaned, "How could they have known we would be coming..." 

Moria already knew the answer, yet she still glared down at her, waiting and wanting to hear the excuse for herself. It humiliated Sombra. She knew Moria found pleasure in humiliating others.

Sombra bit her lip, and then smiled, shrugging animatedly, "I may have ran into a little...." she rolled her wrists trying to find the words, "snag. But-!"

"Oh my god." Reaper pressed his face into the palm of his hand, "Should have known this would happen."

"But I had them! They shouldn't have made it out." She looked back out the window, scowling at the sight of them, "but they did....We still have them outnumbered though. No matter how prepared they are, we still got them-"

"You don't have to tell me." Moria held up her hand, stopping her mid sentence, "If it causes an issue you can explain to Akande yourself."

"There won't be an issue." Sombra snarled, "We have them cornered." 

"Who is that one, by the way?" She tapped her long nail on the window, indicating she was in fact talking about Jamison, and completely ignoring Sombra's response, "And his pig faced companion...they don't look familiar to me."

"They should," Sombra answered sharply, "We tried recruiting them. That's Junkrat and Roadhog. The two Junkers from the Australian wasteland. We tried getting them to join us once before, looks like Overwatch is more their taste. I'm surprised. The scrawny one, Junkrat, found a secret in the Omnium. A 'treasure' he calls it. He's a wanted man because of it. And well other things...but that treasure is something people are dying to get ahold of."

"Nobody knows what it is?"

"Not a clue."

Moria's lips turned into a wicked smile as her interest peaked, "Could prove to be useful. If he makes it out of this alive I would love to...meet with him. Junkrat is an...interesting name...I prefer Labrat, however." She chuckled to herself. It caused everyone's skin to crawl. They knew the types of experimentation Moria got herself invested in, with bugs, animals, people. It wasn't a savory sight. Even to most evil of masterminds, Moria was the type to make people's blood run cold. 

"So, are we going to do this or what?" Widowmaker sighed. The slender, blue skinned sniper had been sitting closely behind them, cleaning her rifle with care. "I can't wait to rid the world of them." 

"Don't sound too excited, mi carina." Sombra flirted. "We are almost there."

"For the meantime. Let's keep them busy." Moria smirked, "Release the battalion." 

\------

 

A cold wind rushed over the waters as silence overtook the group again. Mei watched as the drop ships hovered slowly closer to them. The sun was setting into the horizon, leaving them dependent on the moon's glow for sight. She adjusted her glasses, taking in one last deep breath before things went south. The quiet before the storm. 

Pharah sighed, tapping her fingers impatiently on her hips. "I can't take any longer! Let's end this here and now!" She squared her shoulders, causing the latches on her suit to pop open revealing a set of rocket launchers embedded within them. 

"HAH HA!" Reinhardt laughed loudly, "I LIKE YOUR SPIRIT YOUNG ONE!"

"Yes yes!" Jamison hopped in place, "Come on! Come on! COME ON! I hate waiting!" 

Pharah smirked at their enthusiastic responses. Her mother however was not pleased. "Don't be hasty, My child." Ana warned. Which resulted in some bickering. 

The chatter was brought to a stop by Angela tightly gripping onto Pharah's arm with a far off look on her face. "Shh. You hear that?" She uttered softly. 

Everyone stopped and listened. At first it sounded like nothing. A few confused looks were exchanged before it became clear. A low rumbling noise in the distance, growing closer, louder, like rumbling thunder rolling in the air, the sound became overpowering. They turned to see the source, a huge army of masked Talon soldiers charging at them full force from the other end of the beach. As they grew closer, a chain of explosions set off on the cliff's edges. Parts and pieces falling along with the sparks and flames. 

Torbjourn gripped his hair tightly, cringing at the sight of it, "MY TURRETS! MY BABIES!" 

Reinhardt and Brigette took immediate action, pushing themselves to the front lines, swinging their arms in front of them and pulling out their shields. They gritted their teeth and stood their ground, preparing for impact.

"Now's not the time, Papa!" Brigette called back to a disgruntled Torbjourn.

"HAHA FEAR NOT MY FRIEND! WE SHALL AVENGE YOUR TURRETS IN GLORIOUS COMBAT!" Reinhardt cheered. 

"BRACE YOURSELVES." Soldier ordered above the commotion. 

Mei took a deep breath, focusing on the crowd ahead of her as she positioned her gun tightly in her grip. What she had feared has finally come to life right in front of her. It was all becoming real.

"Hey love." Jamison spoke down to her, breaking her focus. "Watch my back and I'll watch yours." He grinned cockily. 

She blinked up at him, unable to hold back a smile. "Sure thing." She agreed. The simple reminder that he was by her side through it all strangely made her feel more at ease; she felt like she could keep it together all the more better that way. She felt powerful. 

That was clearly the final moment he could truly keep his composure; after that small gesture to Mei, he had completely lost control. Crazed laughter burst from his body, overpowering all of the chaotic sounds surrounding them. He made the first hit, unable to compete with the anticipation any longer; he chucked a small grenade over the heads of his teammates, landing smack in the middle of the opposing crowd. It ruptured, sending a cluster of talon agents flying through the air. It was obvious Jamison got a kick out of that outcome. He danced in place, readying his next bomb for a second attack. 

Hog sighed, grabbing Junkrats hand assertively, “Remember Rat, you don't have unlimited supply this time.”

Jamison scowled, forcefully pulling his hand back out of his grasp, and tossing the second grenade, knocking out a few more agents here and there. 

For the rest of the team, seeing how the enemies reacted to Jamison’s attack was a good indication as to how sturdy their armor really was. To their liking, it was a lot weaker than they had anticipated. After the second bomb, the two armies finally clashed. 

So much was happening at once, but despite that, Mei was able to still stay collected. She readied her gun, setting it to her long range mode, and shot icicles left and right at oncoming Talon agents. She set her sights on every oncoming target, dodging their bullets and attempts to grab her when they got closer. She was honed in, focused, and determined. 

Mei never really bragged much about it, but she was a pretty good shot. At the base, when she was frustrated, she would often blow off steam in the shooting gallery. She found it not only to be useful in situations like this, but also strangely therapeutic. She nailed every shot, impaling each approaching enemy with a sharp icicle through the skull. Even though it was the only option at times, killing was never a savory act to her, she always felt bad doing it, even to the bullies. With every shot she sent into the enemy team, she would mumble a little “sorry” under her breath. It was just in her nature. 

While she was focused on her own cluster of enemies, the rest of her team was doing the same. Jesse counted his shots, the very few he had on hand, taking out enemies one by one with ease. Genji remained close to him, deflecting off bullets with his katana as Jesse focused on his aim. They always worked well together; Genji understood Jesse’s need to focus in times like this. When Mccree had time to concentrate on his shots, it benefited the team as a whole. He always hit his mark that way. 

Pharah took to the sky with Mercy flying close behind her. From the air, they were able to see the battle from a new perspective. It was clear they were greatly outnumbered, from the higher view, it looked more overwhelming than before. Mercy gasped at how far the enemies really spanned, and how overpowering it looked compared to their tiny group by the shore. 

“Don’t worry Angela, I have a good feeling about this.” Pharah smirked at her charismatically. Pharah unhinged the shoulders of her armor, and made a few shots, taking out even larger groups of talon soldiers than Jamison’s grenades. She cheered, adrenaline pumping through her veins as Angela damage boosted her with her staff.   
“Be wary of your ammo, Pharah!” Angela called out, continuing to switch between healing and boosting her as shots were sent back in their direction. Pharah could hardly pay any mind though, still continuing to soar through the air, shooting her rockets, taking out even more groups along the way. She felt alive in the heat of battle, especially since she started fighting alongside Overwatch. It had been her life’s dream every since she was a child. She was very much like Jamison in the sense she would let her enthusiasm take over, clouding her judgement from time to time. 

She was so occupied with her kill count to notice she was being closely targeted. From the Talon dropship, Widowmaker had her sights set on Pharah, pointing her sniper at her. She had a clear shot, and was waiting the opportune moment to strike. 

“I see you…” Widow cooed. 

From the ground, Ana’s motherly senses went haywire. She looked to the sky, immediately spotting her daughter, gliding through the air with Mercy close behind. Her gaze shifted, tracing back to see Widow, perched on the dropship entrance high above them. She growled, readying her own sniper rifle swiftly. 

“RIENHARDT! COVER ME!” she yelled, pointing her rifle directly at widowmaker. 

“YES MY DEAR!” Rien compiled, shifting his shield in front of her for coverage. 

“This time, I won’t hesitate…” She cocked her rifle for the ready, “Leave my daughter alone you nasty bitch.”

Ana fired, knocking Widowmaker off balance as she too took the shot at the exact same moment. Widow’s shot veered off course, striking Pharah in the leg rather than a shot through the head. Pharah shrieked, grabbing hold of her leg as she tumbled out of the sky.

“PHARAH!” Angela called to her, flying down beneath her and grasping her tightly, lightening her fall. 

Ana’s shot striked Widowmakers shoulder, causing her to release hold of her a gun completely as she grabbed onto the wound. It pulsed with pain, sending shocks of poison through her blood with every passing moment. Sombra caught her from her behind, guiding her to a nearby chair, and setting her down softly.

“And you were just getting started too…” Sombra smiled, tending to her wound quickly.  
“S-shut up.” Widow growled. She almost had it, she was so close. 

Meanwhile, Angela was positioned under Pharah’s arm as she helped guide her back to the rest of the group, pistol held up high, shooting her way through the crowd to get Pharah to safety. They were met by Ana who immediately went to tending to her daughter, scolding her for her carelessness. Pharah knew it was all out of love, and even if she didn’t, she was too distracted by the pain to even pay mind to it. 

“Fix me up quick docs, my team needs me.” She smiled. 

Everyone else was holding up strong enough. The healers kept close eye on everyone, making sure not too much damage was done. Lucio weaved in and out of the battle, sporting a special pair of skates designed from stolen Vishkar tech that allowed him to hover above the sand. He healing boosted his team along the way, booping enemy soldiers away from unnoticing teammates. Sending them flying on their backs, completely defenseless. 

Winston laid down his shield dome, electrocuting enemies in large numbers as tracer dashed all around the enemy lines without a trace, laying down pulse bombs every so often. 

“Got ya somethin!” She cheered, setting off the bombs. She must have took out over a dozen soldiers, lightening the load for the rest of her team. She blinked back to her team, reloading her gun in the process.

“Ya gotta let me look at one of those some time!” Junkrat called out to her, noticing the hypnotizing explosions.

“Over my dead body!” She giggled back. 

“FOCUS, RAT!” Hog yelled out, as he hooked an enemy agent, swinging him around like a wrecking ball into his Talon teammates. 

“ROIGHT!” Jamison went back to firing away at the soldiers who were getting caught in his traps, “Watch ya step!” he teased them playfully before sending them to their demise. 

Out of the corner of his eye he took notice of Mei, who was continuing to freeze her opponents, shooting icicles into their foreheads with ease. As dark as it seemed, he couldn’t help but think how beautiful she looked. The way she swiftly glided around the oncoming shots, it was like she was dancing on air. The way she impaled them with gritted teeth and a fire in her eyes, it drove him wild. 

“Hooley dooley…” He breathed dreamily, not noticing the shots being fired at him. 

“RAT.” Hog saved his arse again, hooking those enemies and pumping them full of scrap shreds. Jamison however was still captivated, not even noticing Hog’s calls. He continued to watch her, when suddenly she looked back. Their eyes met, and it made his heart dance in his chest. Except she didn’t look at him the same way. In fact, she looked terrified. She shouted something as she dashed to him, But he couldn't hear, time stood still. 

Was she running to him? She was. Perhaps to be embraced? He smiled, holding out his hands, anticipating her touch. She got close, but missed his body all together, positioning himself in front of him and clasping her eyes shut.

The last thing he heard before it all went south was Roadhog shouting at him again angrily as he took on his own pack of oncoming Talon agents, “YOU IDIOT! YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKING IDIOT!” 

Jamison’s eyes widened as Mei froze in front of him, literally. She took in a deep breath and immersed herself in a block of ice, shielding Jamison from a shower of bullets. His eyes widened as they ricocheted off her icey enclosure. The realization finally hit him… She wasn’t running to him to be with him. She was running to protect him. She made him freeze in battle, lose all of his senses, and got himself into trouble. Got her into trouble. His face turned dark, eyebrows knitting close together as he held a few mines in hand. 

“How dare you…ya fuckin drongos..” He growled as he watched the bullets fly, cracking her safehold. The look on her face was so soft, so pure, so beautiful. The fact that someone was aiming to hurt her drove him mad.

“HOW DARE YA EVEN THINK ABOUT SHOOTING AT MY SNOWFLAKE.” He roared as he tossed his mines overhead, along with most of his grenades he had left; he wasn’t even keeping count anymore like Hog had warned him. All he knew was that he was furious. All he knew is that he wanted to blow them all to hell. The explosions he was creating were so loud that it even gained the attention of his very occupied companions. 

The soldiers that were shooting at him were long dead, but he just kept throwing, missing the enemies completely. He was so fueled with rage he could hardly even see straight. His hand clawed for his Rip Tire, when he was finally stopped by Roadhog. 

Junkrat turned, eyes lit with fury. He scratched at Roadhog’s arm desperately trying to free himself from his grasp, but it didn’t phase Mako at all. He needed to calm down. Or he was going to get them all killed. 

“LET GO! LET GO! LET ME GO YOU FILTHY PIG! I NEED TO KILL THEM!”

“They’re dead.” He answered flatly, still trying to remain wary of the other Talon soldiers. They didn’t have time to be dealing with one of Jamison’s meltdowns. 

“THEY FROZE MY SNOWFLAKE! THEY BROKE HER!” 

“She’ll come out soon.” He sighed back, tired of his antics. It was clear to him that Jamison was not in the right state of mind. “I told you not to get distracted by her.” 

“UP YOURS! YA CUNT!” He punched at Hog’s arm repeatedly. 

“We can’t do this now, Jamison. Get ahold of your-”

They both came to an immediate stop upon hearing a small crackling noise emitting from Mei’s block of ice. It grew louder and louder until finally it broke completely. Roadhog let go of Jamison as he quickly ran to her, catching her in her arms. His face softened into an expression of fear as he held her close, brushing the hair away from her face, whispering to her to wake up desperately. 

“I’m sorry, Mei, I’m sorry! Please!” He pleaded to her. The longer she took to wake up the more flustered he became. Roadhog stood in front of them, taking on any enemies as he continued to try and wake her. He pulled at his hair with his spare hand, chewing at his lip. It was only natural that something like this was bound to happen. He got someone caring for him. Someone who was well above him in every way. Someone he clearly didn’t deserve. 

He was impulsive, rude, and easily distracted. He already told her he never thought things through. It was only natural that he would become so distracted in battle that the someone who cared for him would have to come running to his aid, because he was an idiot. He was a fool. He got people hurt even when he didn’t mean to. He could have gotten her killed, all because he got her to care for him.

Maybe if she stayed hating him, he thought, she would never get hurt. He could have been mean back to her. He could have harassed her, picked on her, and called her names, even if it pained him, she would never come to his rescue. She would never get hurt because of him. As these thoughts ran through his mind he continued to rock her back and forth, whimpering nonsense to himself. Begging her to open her eyes. Regardless of how much he could have gotten her to hate him, it would never stop him from caring about her. He couldn’t put it into words, but she could never make him lose this feeling he had for her. He never wanted to lose her. 

She finally opened her eyes, gasping for breath. He widened his eyes, pulling her close into an embrace as she coughed on the air around her. 

“MEI! OH GOD YA SCARED ME!” He shook her like a rag doll in his grasp, not quite aware of the damage he was doing.

“URK! Yes! I’m sorry about that!” She answered in a raspy tone. He finally pulled her away from him, locking eyes with her with a deep scowl on his face. 

“Don’t go doin’ anything like that again! You hear me?!”

She blinked back at him confused, “Jamison...I’ve frozen myself plenty of times on the battlefield before.. What are you talking about?”

“Y-YEAH BUT-” He stammered becoming frustrated, “Throwing yourself in front of me like that!”

“You were in danger!”

“I ain't worth the-”

“-WATCH OUT.” She grabbed on to the back of his head, pushing his whole body down into the sand beneath them as she shot an icicle straight in between an enemy agent’s eyes. An agent who had his gun directly pointed at Junkrat. He fell to the ground with a thud. 

Jamison perked up, taking notice of what had just happened, “UGH AGAIN?!” He shrieked, “Well, aren’t I just on a roll today!” 

Mei’s second attempt of protecting Jamison did not go unnoticed by Roadhog whatsoever. In fact he was very thankful for it, not that he was the best at expressing that gratitude. 

“Are you two done?” He grumbled, “Now isn’t exactly a good time for that mush.”

“HEY! Mind ya own business you-” Jamison retaliated.

“He’s right.” Mei stood up, helping Jamison to his feet. “We still have far to go.” 

She reloaded her gun, preparing for the next set of opponents. Jamison watched her, trying his hardest not to become completely captivated again. He knew now more than ever that he needed to focus, not only for his own sake but hers as well. 

“Hey, Snowflake.” He said as he readied his frag as well, face glowing red. She turned to him. 

“Thanks.” He smiled. 

She smiled back, “It’s no problem. Watch your back and you watch mine...Remember?” 

He lightly chuckled back, “You’re damn right but uh…Don’t go scaring me like that again, got it?” She nodded to him softly in response, then refocusing herself again.

She took a moment to take in the sights. Even though they had done a number on the enemy team, they were still greatly outnumbered. It felt as though no matter how many agents they took out, more came in and took their place. It felt hopeless. Mei’s heart ached for a brief moment thinking about it. Jamison must had caught on to that, due to the fact he took the time to give her hand a tightly little squeeze for encouragement. She acknowledged it with a half smile.

“It just is starting to feel hopeless…” She sighed.

“Ya ain’t dead yet.” He cocked his frag launcher, shooting a small cluster of agents approaching them. “I’ll try harder to stay focused this time.” He winked at her, causing her to smile again. 

“Yes, please do.” She responded, heading back into battle. 

He was right...they weren't dead.. Not quite yet at least.

\----

 

Reaper watched quietly from the dropship. All of the obstacles that had kept them from achieving what they had planned for were finally being knocked down, but still, something inside him was eating away at him. He felt impatient and cramped. A frustration bubbled up within him as he watched the two teams collide. Then he saw him. Morrison. 

He watched him as he called out to his teammates, directing them and giving orders. He watched as they listened, complying to his demands and holding up a strong front against them. Even with that stupid mask and ugly scar, Morrison still looked like the true American hero. He shined far above everyone else like a beacon of hope to all that were lost. It made Reaper sick. He knew Morrison would soon meet his demise, but it wasn’t happening soon enough. 

He clenched his fist tightly, “I’m going in.” He grunted.   
This peaked Moria’s interest. She knew what he was going after, anyone could tell just by looking at him. He wanted Morrison’s head, and he wanted to be the one to chop it off. 

“He’ll fall at some point.” She smirked, “No sense getting yourself involved.”

“This time… I want to make sure he dies.” He responded sharply, body slowly fading into a smokey mass and the wind began to carry him to the battlefield. 

On the shore, Soldier 76 pushed himself further to the back lines, taking advantage of his long range weapon, to reload his gun and count his ammo. He had only a few clips left. Sighing with frustration, he loaded in the next clip, discarding the old one aside. 

Suddenly his senses heightened. His tactical instincts kicked in. Something felt off. Eery.

Familiar. 

“Hello Jack.” A low, gruff voice murmured behind him.

He swung his gun around, using it as a close range battering weapon. To his disappointment, his hit completely phased through the figure. As his gun passed through it, the form vanished into smoke, quickly recollecting behind him again. He knew then and there exactly who he was dealing with. Before 76 could make his next move, a loud popping noise radiated behind him, and suddenly his legs completely gave out beneath him as he tumbled into the sand. He grabbed on to his left calf as it pulsed with pain beneath his hand. He had been hit. 

He turned to face his foe now looming over him with two jet black guns pointed directly at his chest. It was who he had feared to face ever since he heard of the impending attack; a dark reminder of his past and how everything he had loved had come to ruin, all in one person. 

“Reaper…” He grunted through the pain. 

“What’s wrong, Jack? Are we not on a first name basis anymore?” Reaper questioned sarcastically. 

Soldier paused, “The Gabriel I knew died a long time ago…”

Reaper could not hold back his laughter after hearing such a stupid remark. To him, Jack was completely clueless; he found it down right foolish that even to this day, Jack was still unaware of the resentment Gabriel felt in his heart long before he became Reaper. Long before even the fall of Blackwatch itself. He had always been in the shadow of Morrison and what he was to others. No matter how hard Gabriel had tried, he could never compete with him. Jealousy turned to hatred, and he had been fueled by it ever since. His laughter rang across the battlefield, gaining the attention of the rest of the Overwatch team. 

They all desperately called for Soldier and his safety. Unfortunately, the Talon army’s forces were growing even larger, stronger, and more overpowering. They could not get to him. Morrison watched as Reaper hung over him, his team falling powerless in the background. All of their efforts started to crumble before him, and time seemed to slow down. He could see on everyone’s faces, their fear and their anger as they tried harder and harder to fight on, only to be pushed back. The enemy was starting to surround them. They were starting to have the upper hand. The battle was reaching its end, and it was not in their favor. 

“Don’t worry about Gabriel, Jack…” Reaper pushed his gun back into position, “You will be with him very soon.”

Jack sighed, looking over at his gun that was positioned a just out of reach. He knew in his heart once he attempted to go for it, that would be the end. Reaper would win, no matter what. And he would be struck down. It was only appropriate; to fall at the hands of Reaper. Someone who was once not only his greatest friend and teammate, but also love. He much rather it be him opposed to any other nameless Talon agent. He knew this ending wasn’t going to be what he had hoped, but he also knew damn well he wasn’t going to go without a fight. 

He could hear the click of the trigger being pulled back, as he positioned his feet in the sand to launch himself to his gun. He held his breath, steadying himself, waiting. Now.

He moved only to fall reactively at the sound of the shot being fired. He clasped his arms around his head, clenching his eyes shut. Except...no pain. 

He jolted upwords to see the source; to his surprise, the shot was not from Reaper. 

Reaper was groaning, as he dropped his gun into the sand and clasped his hand over his shoulder. Dark, black, blood oozed from his skin, dripping onto the sand below. Jack took the chance to leap to his gun, cocking it back and striking Reaper in his other shoulder before he could turn into his smokey form. Reaper recoiled, dropping his other gun into the sand and howling even louder in pain. He knew he no longer had the upper hand. He made eye contact with Soldier one last time before fading into smoke and fleeing the battlefield for good. 

It was a miracle that Morrison had survived. He lost his composure, settling himself onto the ground, gasping for air. Then he realized, perhaps it wasn’t a miracle after all. He looked over in the direction the shot rang from, to see a trembling Dva; her gun shaking in her grip, eyes now heavy with tears. 

“Hana..” He breathed, holding his arms open. She ran to him, tears now streaming down her face as she jumped into his embrace. “What were you thinking? You could have gotten hurt!”

“I-I’m so sorry 76! I’m sorry for what I said! I-I-” She sobbed.

“You saved me.” He told her, pulling her off so he could look her in the eye. She looked back, face red and eyes puffy, he couldn’t help but let out a small nervous chuckle, “You are a brave soldier, Hana. Thank you.”

“You all are just..” She shrugged, rolling her eyes, trying to mask her fragile state with her bashing humor, “ Just so hopeless without me! I mean I just had to-!” 

He laughed in response, pulling her back into a hug, “You’re so right...but maybe you shouldn’t have come out anyways...it looks like we aren’t making it out of this one.”

They both looked up to see that their teammates were now inches away from them. Everyone was gathered close, herded together like animals, completely surrounded by Talon soldiers on all sides. The team stood still, assessing their situation, trying to find an out, but there was no luck. Soldier listened to his team’s exchanges, heart growing heavier as he listened to them scramble for any means of escape. 

“G-got any more of those pulse bombs, Lena?” Mccree asked.

“No dice, love…” 

“I can only deflect so much..” Genji stammered. 

“I have one rocket left, maybe we could-?” Pharah suggested.

“It will only get us shot down in an instant.” Zarya responded harshly. 

“I told you! We are sitting ducks!” Torbjourn whined. 

“Papa…” 

Jamison stared on at the forces completely surrounding them. It was clear they were in deep trouble, but he didn't want to accept any means of defeat. He began to shake, whimpering and grunting with a mix of fear and frustration as he tugged at his hair wildly. There had to be something, anything. Maybe? His thoughts ran through his mind at speeds he couldn't seem to keep up with as he cursed under his breath. The thoughts came to a halt within a second upon feeling a small touch on his left arm. He looked down to see Mei, pushing herself closer to him with trembling lips and a far off gaze. She was scared. Beyond scared. Jamison followed her gaze to the Talon agents, pointing all of their guns directly at them at once. It pissed him off. They were all so beneath her. They had no right to even be in her presence, let alone point their filthy guns at her and frighten her. 

He softly brushed her behind his body, looking deep into the cold dark lenses of the enemies before them, growling at them like a wild animal fueled by fury. 

“Get behind me, love. It’s my turn to shield ya.” He grunted down to her.

“No. It’s mine.” Roadhog pushed himself in front of the both of them, shielding them with his whole massive body. Jamison blinked with confusion at Roadie’s gesture. He had made it clear to him earlier that day that it was not his intention to go out of his way to protect anyone else aside from him, but yet, here he was. 

Roadhog could feel Jamison’s confusion. He huffed, “She’s a brave girl...Saw what she did for ya earlier… Could use some help when it comes to dealing with your crazy ass…”

Mei blushed at Roadhog’s kind words. Coming from him, it really meant a lot, even in a dire situation like this. 

Jamison beamed with pride, “She’s one of a kind, ay? If we make it out of this, I wanna keep this one around!” He found his voice trailing off with every passing word, “If we make it out…”

“W-we just need to think! Think…” Mei mumbled Mandarin to herself frantically, assessing the situation and all of it’s possible outcomes in her head. While Jamison, all he could seem to do was stare at her, taking in her sights and imprinting them in his memory. When she made her presence known to him, or when she was close, he felt grounded. If she hadn’t been around, he too would possibly be going back into a frenzy. Her touch brought him back, and he couldn’t help but just stop and stare. 

Jamison had been in plenty of situations before where death was right in front of him, but he always made it out. Always. But this time, felt different.

The events of this whole trip started to replay in his mind like a movie when he looked at her, invoking all the feelings he had at once. The anger when she approached him at the store. The warm fuzzy feeling he felt as they sipped on her favorite wine under the stars. The jealousy and rage that bubbled inside him after seeing her be kissed by someone else. The huge fire she lit in his heart after feeling their hands touch and lips meet. He felt it all at once staring down at her in that moment, knowing very well this could be the last time he experienced any of those feelings. The last time he could ever be by her side like this. He wanted to tell her somehow, just how much she meant to him, but he could not put it into words. He knew in his heart though he had to say it. Something. Anything. Now was his only chance.

As she continued to mumble in her native tongue to herself, he gave her hand a quick squeeze, trying to speak from his heart, “Mei...I..I lo-” 

He was cut off by a loud, mechanical-sounding horn that rang above them. The sound was powerful, and shocked everyone all at once, causing all eyes to vere to the sky, searching for the source. A large dropship slowly began to make it’s way over to their group, bobbing slightly as the bottom hatches opened wide, revealing a large round, wirey device. 

“What in the hell is that?!” Winston shouted above the wind being kicked up by the vessel.

Junkrat stared. He worked with plenty of them to know. But never once of this size.

“It’s a bomb…” He announced, tone filled with pain. It hurt even more once he felt Mei’s worried eyes looking to him for clarity, hoping and praying he was wrong. He wasn’t. He knew for a fact just by looking at it, it’s set up, it was in fact a bomb. He bit his lip, staring on trying not to make eye contact with her. It hurt too much to see her in such a state. 

“You mean… They are just gunna...drop that on…” Lena gasped, unable to finish her own sentence. 

“Looks like it…” Mccree answered, already lighting a cigar between his lips. It was clear that he had already accepted his fate. Dva let out a small whimper, burying her face into Jack’s chest as he held her tightly. Talon had gathered them up like this on purpose. They had them right in the palm of their hands. Right where they wanted them. 

“They are willing to kill their own comrades to rid the world of us?” Zarya gestured to the massive group of Talon agents surrounding them.

“Sounds just like Talon…” Soldier grumbled. 

“Sounds like Talon to be be so extra…” Pharah grumbled as she pulled Mercy into a tight embrace.

“Regardless…” Soldier continued, heart heavy with sorrow, “It has been an honor serving with you all.” 

Mei tightened her grip on Jamison’s arm, burrowing her face against his skin. He held her, taking in her touch and sweet scent like it would be the last. It would be the last. The very last time he would be with her. It hurt, especially knowing they were just getting close. 

His gaze shifted to the giant bomb hovering toward them. He had always imagined going out in a fiery passion. Wouldn’t want it any other way, really. He hated the cold. Couldn’t stand it. To die, burning in the embers of a beautiful explosion, alongside Mei and his best pal, it did sound heavenly. And if he were to die, that's how he would have wanted it. I guess he couldn’t help but feel somewhat grateful in this ungodly moment.

A beautiful explosion...He just wish he could see it from afar himself. He brushed his hair back, lightly bumping his Rip-tire in the process. Huh...Never did get to use that.. He thought to himself. 

Something in him within that moment started to click. If there was some way… any way.. He could set off that bomb before it got to them, not only would he be able to watch it in all it’s glory, but maybe, just maybe they could survive. His eyes twitched as he scrambled in place, eyeing all of the shields they still had in their possession. Something within him began to stir with excitement. Maybe this wouldn’t be the last time he could be with Mei. Maybe they could make even more memories together. The thought of it caused him to erupt into a laughing fit.

His surrounding teammates looked at him with disgust, unable to read his mind whatsoever.

“Jamison this is hardly the time!” Mercy shouted.

“OHHH HOHOO! But it IS the time! It’s the perfect time!” He giggled madly, whipping his rip tire from around his shoulder and dumping it into the sand. His gaze shifted avidly from side to side before finally pointing to Reinhardt, who was wielding his giant shield in front of him. “YOU! Can uh… that big ole’ shield of yours. Can it handle some weight? I wanna send this baby flying.” He slapped the side of his tire, smile growing wider by the second. 

“It can! But... Flying? To where?” Reinhardt questioned, eyeing the tire suspiciously. 

Jamison could hardly contain his excitement as he jolted his finger out, pointing up to the bomb hoover ahead of them. “To THAT! Hehehehhehe!” 

The whole team fell silent, suddenly getting what crazy idea Jamison had in store. He was going to try to blow that bomb up himself, using his own creation. They all blinked for a moment, looking at one another for confirmation. 

“It’s a crazy idea…” Soldier broke the silence, “But it’s the only one we have. And it just might work. Tanks! Shields at the ready! Once that thing explodes above us, it’s coming down!”

“Even if it doesn’t hit us directly… We still may not make it. The fire and wreckage it will make, will come down on us. We will be relying on the shields to stay steady..” Lucio mumbled reluctantly. 

“It’s the best we got!” Dva shouted. “Give em hell, Rat!”

Jamison giggled, rubbing his hands together madly, “Finally my genius is recognized!” 

“Wait.” Mei held his shoulder, gaining the rest of the team’s attention as well, “If we make any sudden moves or actions, these agents will shoot us down…” 

“I’ll keep you guarded…” Roadhog huffed sternly. 

“No! There must be a way! A way where we don't have to sacrifice anyone to survive!” She adjusted her glasses, thinking frantically. She wanted this plan to work, but in order to make it work the best it can, they would need to get rid of this army. As she sat thinking, the rest of the team waiting and thinking alongside her, a loud trilling beeping sound grew louder and louder, approaching them. She knew that sound better than anything. 

She perked up, lips curling into a smile. “SNOWBALL!” 

Snowball whizzed onto the battlefield, soaring above the enemy soldiers, dodging shots with ease as it activated its main attack. Frost began to pour out of snowball, completely coating the enemy lines. The more they became coated in Snowball’s chilling frost, the slower their movements became, eventually freezing them completely into a statue like state. Mei could hardly contain herself as she jumped for joy, cheering for her little robot friend as it froze the last of their opponents. Snowball scurried over to Mei, snuggling up against her, happy to be of assistance. 

“You saved us! Thank you, Snowball!” she giggled, placing a small kiss on it’s little screen. He beeped happily back to her, happy that she was safe. 

“Heh, maybe that little bot is good for something.” Junkrat chuckled. 

“JAMISON NOW!” Soldier called out frantically. 

“RIGHT!” Jamison readied his rip tire under his boot, holding the engine cord tightly in his grip. Reinhardt got down, making a makeshift ramp out of his shield pointed directly at the approaching dropship. It was getting closer and closer, soon, it was practically right above them. They had no more time to spare. He took in a deep breath, trying to focus his aim and ignore the frantic shouting of his teammates, hounding him to release it now. It had to be right; he had to aim it just right. Finally he found the spot. The right moment. “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!” 

He sent the tire off the ramp, soaring through the sky, colliding directly with the enormous bomb above them. No detonators were needed; as soon as his tire made contact, it created the biggest explosion he had ever seen. Flying sparks and embers rained from the sky in a blazing glory. It was absolutely spectacular. 

Junkrat was so hypnotized by the spectacle, that Mei had to tackle him to the ground, holding him tight in her grasp, keeping him close. A heavier weight fell on the both of them, as Roadhog buried the two deep beneath himself, shielding them from the fires. 

As the fire rained down, the tanks quickly placed their shields above them, everyone gathered close, holding on to one another for dear life. The fire completely engulfed them; the warmth was so overpowering, it seeped through the shields, burning against their skin. The wreckage and smoke from the ship fully consumed them. The shouts and cries; the final words and exchanges droned out into a dull silence. And everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9

The feeling that overtook her was overwhelming. It was frigid and cold, yet scolding and hot all at once. But above all; it was dark. She couldn’t seem to move, just frozen still floating in the darkness, no control of where her body took her, and no clue as to if she was even moving at all. 

A distant ringing noise flooded her ears, increasingly getting louder with each passing second. She wanted to grip her head, cover her ears and block it out, but she was still. Helpless. All she could do was breathe, take a moment and recollect herself. 

Did Jamison’s plan even work? Where was Jamison anyways? In fact, where was everyone? She was alone in this mysterious solitude. She tried to suppress her anxiety as much as she could, but she just found herself shaking, unable to hold it in. It flooded her system, taking complete control over her. 

So many emotions at once. So many feelings. Yet nothing at all...Was she dead?

Suddenly a familiar voice called out to her in the darkness. 

“Mei! Keep it together, girl!”

She knew she heard that voice before; but she couldn’t put her finger on who it was. Soon a new voice added to the exchange.

“Jeez Mei. You really did a number on yourself this time! Didn’t take you for the rowdy type! You need to be more careful!”

“W-Who’s there?” Mei called back, voice echoing in the darkness, “Wait a second...Opara?! Adams?! Is that you?!”

“It looks like you made new friends! I’m not surprised! You are so friendly, who couldn’t love you!” A new voice added.

“MacReady too?!” Mei’s eyes filled with tears, “Where are you! I can’t see you! Please come back!” 

“As it should be. You aren’t ready to join us yet…” Another voice called out.

“Yes you have so much more to live for Mei! Your adventure is not done!” 

Mei’s lips trembled as she couldn’t hold the tears back any longer, “Arrhenius.. Torres..Everyone…IM SORRY! I’m so sorry for everything! W-What happened at Ecopoint... I hope..I hope you can forgive me!”

“Nothing to forgive…” MacReady added.

“Of course, Mei… You have no reason to be sorry…”

“We love you Mei.” Opara warmly stated on behalf of everyone. 

Mei’s voice shook as she spoke between sobs, “I love you too…” 

“We are happy to watch you grow.. And excited to see where your journey will take you.”

“We all know you will do great things! Please! Keep up the good work, Mei!”

“We will be watching over you! Always!”

Suddenly, her senses started to all come back to her, flooding in gradually. Lights and colors started to surround her as she felt herself being pulled back into reality. The voices calling out to her one final time.

“Now go! Show the world what you are made of!”

“Bring your light to those in need! Be their hope!”

“Help Overwatch become better than it ever was!”

“We know you can do it!”

The last thing she heard before she woke up completely, were all the familiar voices at once, chanting out to her in a melody of love and comfort.

“WE ARE ROOTING FOR YOU! MEI!”

\-----

Mei’s eyes shot open as she gasped for air, gripping handfuls of sand beneath her. All of her senses came back, flooding in at overwhelming speeds. She could feel the pain and aches slowly overtaking her body. It was a nasty fall, but she was alive and well. 

The first thing she saw upon waking up was a troubled Jamison staring back at her. He too was on the ground, his hand trembling and hovering over her face as he wore a very panicked expression. Slowly he reached his hand down, caressing her skin lightly, taking in that chilly sensation only she gave off. He breathed sharply, choking back dry sobs as he smiled back at her, eyes glowing brightly with relief. 

“Thought I lost ya for a second there, snowflake.” His voice trembled. 

She smiled back, lovingly taking his hand into hers, and nuzzling her face against it, feeling his soothing warmth. She thought she would never get the chance to feel it again; in her mind, she was eternally grateful. 

“I’m here.” She smiled, a few tears rolling down her cheeks, “I am here.” 

He chuckled lightly, suppressing the urge to cry out in pain as he fought the aches and bruises to inch himself closer to her. Running his fingers through her hair, he lead her forehead to his lips, kissing her firmly. He clenched his eyes shut, taking in the sweet salty scent of her hair and the sensation of his lips pressed against her skin. To think they had another chance to make more memories with one other, filled him with so much excitement and relief all at once. After experiencing such a close call, it made him count his lucky stars. He thought he was lucky even just to be in her presence, but after that, he was lucky to just be alive and well with her. 

Their loving reunion was interrupted by a low rumbling grown above them. Roadhog kept them sheltered from a majority of the blow by throwing himself overtop of them. It was obvious by the looks of him that he did not fare well from that experience. He slowly started to pick himself up, griping in pain as he lifted his torso up and off of them. Jamison and Mei turned, faces riddled with concern as they watched him struggle. 

As he attempted to hold himself up, his mask slowly began to slip off his face, revealing a bit of his scarred chin and lips. His bottom teeth were pointed upwards in a unusual fashion that caused Mei to gasp without realizing. They almost looked like tusks. 

Jamie quickly scrambled without hesitation, catching Roadhog’s mask before it could fall any further and pushing it back into place. Roadhog couldn’t move to help, he was still attempting to hold himself up.

“Mei, can ya hold this for a sec? His straps came undone…” Jamie asked as he started to scurry out from underneath him. 

Mei quickly complied, reaching out to roadhog’s mask, hands hovering away for a moment in hesitation. Hog nodded to her, assuring her it was ok. 

“Okay.” She reached out, gently holding it into place as Junkrat let go fully, pushing himself out from under him and running around behind him to help.

As she held his face in her hands, she could see through his lenses once again. He stared back at her, eyes twitching with pain. 

Jamison halted in his tracks upon seeing the backside of him. Although the shields stopped most of the blow, the skin on his back still took a good hit. His back was charred a deep red and black color as it peeled down over his shoulders. The blood was not running, but instead pooled up, oozing and moist. His body heaved up and down as he took deep, long breaths; clearly trying to hold back the pain. Jamison winced, slowly reaching out to the straps of his mask, trying not to make any contact with his wounds. 

“Looks like you took quite the beating this time, mate…” he stuttered, looping a double knot and pulling the mask tightly into place.  
“Hmmm I’ll live.” He grumbled as he tried to sit himself up. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out one of his gas canisters and clipped it to his mask. He huffed in the fumes, exhaling a sigh of relief as he crushed the empty can in his fist. Mercy got on him quite a bit about using them, but he would be damned if he was going to let someone even think about telling him what to do at the moment. He was exhausted. Hurting. After those events, the last thing on his mind was his health in the long run. 

“Thank you...Mr. Rutledge.” Mei uttered mousily, eyebrows knitted together in concern. 

Roadhog didn’t say anything back. He just looked down at her for a moment, analyzing her face. She was clearly worried. He wasn’t surprised; you didn’t have to know her for long to know that it was in her nature. She meant well, even he knew that. He responded finally by taking his giant hand and placing it on her head, ruffling her hair a bit through some soft shaking motions. She blushed, still not quite use to seeing him show any form of affection. Not that he was use to showing it in the first place. Perhaps Overwatch was turning him into too much of a softy. 

Everyone else started to pick themselves off the ground. Luckily everyone was safe. Out of the whole team, Mako took the brunt of the attack. But he was strong, and he had some of the world’s best doctors there and at his disposal. Mei watched as everyone got to their feet. Her heart sang in her chest. She was so happy she did not lose any more friends. She closed her eyes, silently thanking her Ecopoint friends for watching over them. As silly as it seemed, she felt as though they had something to do in protecting them. If Jamison were to hear that naive belief, he probably would have died in a laughing fit, so she kept it to herself, smiling softly as she breathed in the salty summer air. She didn’t care if it seemed childish; it brought her comfort. 

As Jamison helped Roadhog sit up completely, he felt a pair of eyes watching him, very closely. It sent a shiver up his spine that he just couldn’t explain. His eyes darted back and forth, trying to find the source, than he saw her. Standing on the enemy dropship as it’s doors slowly creaked to a close, Moria stared back at him. They locked eyes and she shot him a wicked smirk. Something in his stomach turned, sending him to recoil back in defense. Jamison’s blood ran cold; he couldn’t explain it, he had seen all types of evil in the Outback, some that he had personally faced head on, but something about this woman froze him there on the spot. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit. The world came to a stop around him as he continued to stare back at her.

“I’ll see you soon...Labrat.” She cooed. The doors came to a complete close as the dropship changed its course, hovering away in the distance. 

Jamison still stood frozen in place. Who was that? What did she want? She was clearly looking at him... Why him? All these thoughts ran through his mind until finally Mei rested her hand on his shoulder, breaking his trance. 

“Are you okay? Worried about Mr. Rutledge?” She asked innocently. 

He shook his head frantically, shaking away the eerie feeling the woman had left. “Y-yeah.” He lied, “Mr. Rut- Er.. Roadie. Worried about the big guy.”

“It’s ok! He is conscious and speaking fine, I’m sure Dr. Ziegler can patch him up.” She smiled. “He will be ok… We will make sure of it.”

Meanwhile, Roadhog was looking over his shoulder back at him. He knew he was lying. Instantly. There was something going on in his head that he wasn’t ready to tell. He would shake it out of him eventually, but for now, he needed his rest. Roadhog grunted, closing his eyes trying to ignore the painful shocks of cool air brushing against his wounds. 

“This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when you said ‘free vacation’ Winston..” Mccree joked, brushing the ashes off of his cowboy hat before setting it back into place. 

“Wasn’t really what I had in mind either….” Winston adjusted his now crooked glasses, looking at the aftermath surrounding them. The beach home itself was half demolished. Some of it stood standing, but the explosion clearly took a large toll on it. Burnt Talon agents and dropship wreckage cascaded the once beautiful beach, and he found himself pondering how the heck they were going to manage to clean this mess up. He groaned at the thought of it; not really the relaxing ending to a once relaxing getaway that he had imagined. 

Lena playfully nudged his arm, trying to cheer him up, “Looks like Talon ran off with their tails between their legs. Can’t imagine the would give us much trouble for a while after that one.” Winston smiled sweetly at her attempts. 

“Yeah! You all are really lucky that I swooped in last minute and scared them off!” Hana exclaimed sassily as she pretended to check her nails, “Not saying I need a parade in my honor or anything but… if you are offering-”

Lucio burst into a fit of laughter, giving hana a playful slap on the back, “That was all you?! Yeah right!”

“You all did very well… I am very proud of all of you.” Jack interrupted, “I must give credit where it is due however. Jamison. Your efforts to stop the bomb saved us all. And I believe I am speaking on behalf of all of us when I say, thank you. Your plan may just have saved us all.”

Everyone cheered, agreeing with Jack’s words as they crowded around Jamison, showering him with praise. For the first time in awhile, he felt himself becoming shy. Usually he would take that praise and boast at least ten times more, almost making everyone regret giving it to him in the first place. He was a loudmouth, and lived for the spotlight. But there was something in that moment that made him feel different. Not that he usually liked to admit it, but one of his very few memories he had as child, even growing up to the adult he had become, was always wishing somehow he could be a hero to others. Due to the conditions of his home, that wasn’t an option he never thought he would have. But as cheesy as it sounded, in this moment where the heros he heard about in the news were surrounding him and praising him for his actions, he felt that dream being fulfilled. And it made him happy. A part of Roadhog knew this, as he watched from the sidelines as the Team congratulated and thanked him profusely. He felt proud. 

“W-wow guys..” Jamison stuttered, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly as everyone continued to thank him, “I-It’s no problem! My pleasure!”

“Ok guys but seriously…” Mccree interrupted, gesturing to the wreckage, “What are we gunna do about all this?”

That question quickly brought their celebration to a close.

\-----

 

The next few days leading up to their dropship pick up were excruciatingly long. They had no choice in the matter to use these long days to their advantage, working as a team to clean up the aftermath of the battle under the sweltering heat. There was no Air conditioning to run to for comfort, either. Due to the half of the house being totally demolished, they were without power for those days, trying to make the best of it. Of course there was nothing they could do about the house in the moment; that would just need to be scheduled to be taken care of at a different time. Luckily the weather held up enough to allow to them to sleep under the stars. It was almost a little nice having it that way; Mei kept a positive outlook on things, comparing it to a fun camping trip with friends. It didn’t seem to bother the junkers one bit; they were so use to sleeping under the stars that it felt perfectly natural to them.

In terms of the wounded, they did have very little supplies to work off of; most of it being put to use covering Roadhog’s back. They bandaged him up very nicely, providing him with biotic fields as well as pain killers. He took them without saying a word, but at the end of the day he solely relied on his own gas canisters to give him the alleviation he needed. It was enough to hold him up just fine until they got back to base. 

During those two days, Jamison was surprisingly silent around Mei. She almost thought she had somehow hurt his feelings. It was very much like Mei to immediately assume she hurt someone if something seemed off; it was something she always tried her best to avoid, and feared of doing unintentionally. Not that Mei ever actually hurt anyone’s feelings to begin with.

No, the reason he was so silent was because there was a small internal struggle going on inside him. The memories of the passing week were still playing through his mind. All of the memories they had shared together. All of the feelings she made him feel stirring inside of him as well. Everytime he seemed to look at her, his fears would get the best of him. It was true that he possibly saved everyone with his spontaneous plan; but what if he hadn’t thought of it? He didn’t want to imagine what it would be like if he shook Mei and she never woke up. They were safe, but it was too close for comfort. 

A thought crossed his mind that he would have rather never met her than see her perish. And having that thought left him with a stinging feeling in his heart. To have never met Mei. To still be wondering around Australia with no hope in the world; it was also something he would not like to imagine. 

It wasn’t like him to be having all of these irrational fears. To be so fixated on something like this. Typically, if an issue couldn’t be solved by simply blowing it up, he would let it go. No problem. Water off a duck’s back. But with her involved, things got complicated. 

The thoughts kept consuming him. And he just wanted a moment to breathe. He realized that the battle had gotten him a little more shaken up than he had expected. Mei respected that; giving him some breathing room as she helped the others. 

Finally, two days later, the dropship arrived. It was a saving grace that actually caused people to break out into cheers upon seeing. Finally they could go back to their comfy rooms, with pantries full of food, working showers and actual air conditioning. Mei had never seen anyone so excited to leave a vacation than her teammates in that moment. 

The ride home was incredibly silent. Most of the members passed out on the spot, sleeping the full ride home, while others just meditated on the incredible battle they actually survived through with little ammo and little hope. Mei finally took advantage of the silence, closing her eyes and resting the remaining time of the trip home. Aside from being ambushed by Talon and almost killed, the trip wasn’t all too bad. They had some fun nights and she gained a newfound respect for her Junker comrades. Perhaps some time soon they could give this vacation thing another try. Upon thinking that she had realized she had not thought about her research in some time. She giggled to herself; what a big step for her. 

\----

Once they finally reached the Watchpoint station, Mei scurried straight for her room, in desperate need of a shower. The sand, sweat and grime that had lingered on her skin since the night of the attack made her feel absolutely foul. If she wasn’t smelling fruity, flowery or fresh, she felt out of place. Two whole days under the sun without a shower was just too much to handle. 

As she made her way into her room, shutting the door behind her, snowball quickly zoomed to his charging station and settled himself into place, sleeping as soundly as a robot could. He had gone all that time without charging; and especially after the big attack he brought on to those evil talon agents, he needed his rest. 

Mei paused to give him a loving pat on the head before walking into her bathroom. “Goodnight, sleepy head.” 

The shower took longer than she had anticipated. She constantly shifted the water from cool to warm, soothing her muscles and refreshing her skin after working under the hot sun. She didn’t mean to be in for that long, but it just felt so heavenly; she just chalked it up to treating herself. It wasn’t like she had anywhere in particular to be anyways. 

After stepping out of the shower she waddled over to her pajama drawer, pulling out her favorite pair of fleece pajamas and snuggling them to her face. The soft texture felt so nice on her freshly washed skin. She bypassed air drying for a bit and immediately threw them on, feeling as snug as a bug. 

There was a certain comfort in these actions that she couldn’t quite get anywhere else. Even if it was small, she treasured it. Especially now, after what they had been through, she didn’t know she would even have the chance to come back to the comfort of her room and favorite PJs. The thought clouded her mind for a moment, bringing her a small feeling of sorrow. She really was lucky to be here. And just as her friends from the past had told her in her time of need, there was still so much she had to do. 

The dark thoughts quickly left her mind upon hearing a rapid series of knocks on her door. She shuffled off of her bed and hurried over to the door. On the other side to greet her was Jamison, wearing nothing but a pair of athletic shorts he had borrowed from Lucio but never quite gave back. Having him at her door seemed to be a trend that was happening a lot more frequently than she had ever thought. She was pleased to see him, but still feeling somewhat nervous due to the distant demeanor he had displayed toward her within the past two days. It was something he was clearly aware of; she could tell by his actions. 

He rubbed his arm awkwardly, biting his lip up until finally stuttering down to her, “Hey-a, M-mei, just thought I’d come and check on ya.. See how you were doin.”

“Jamison. Hi. Uhm..I’m well, thank you” 

They both stood silent for a moment until they both attempted to speak, accidentally stumbling and speaking a the same exact time, followed by some awkward nervous laughter. 

“Y-you first.” Jamie offered.

“Oh uhm. How is Mr. Rutledge?”

“Oh, Pig face? He’s good as gold, no worries. Doc has him all fixed up and cooped up in that hospital room we are so use to.” He chuckled, “Ain’t nothin he can’t handle.”

“That’s a relief. I’m glad to hear he’s okay.” She smiled. 

They both stood, staring at one another in a long silence, unable to come up with the words to say. Not to mention Jamison was already in a state of being captivated by her once again. He did not realize how long he had been quiet. Incapable of taking his eyes off of her, all of his feelings began to bubble and boil inside of him more passionately than ever before. 

He had lost and felt loss with everything that had entered his life. Mei entered his life in such a way he would never imagined over the course of this week, and she almost left it just as quickly. He had faced so many unspeakable horrors in his time in the Outback, but the fear of losing her altogether, and being that close to it being an actual possibility, was a different kind of fear. A fear that shook his core like no other, and pained him in a way no amount of torture could seem to replicate. 

So all he could do was stare. Take in her sight, engrave it in his mind. Remind himself by having her here, right in front of her, she was in fact safe. She was in fact alive and with him in this world. The thought of having her safe alone was overwhelming. It overpowered those bad thoughts and gave him a deep comfort. But despite that the bad thoughts still ran rampant through his mind. 

He needed to know she was here. He needed to know this was real. He needed to feel her, touch her, taste her, take her in. 

The silence began to concern her, she finally spoke out to him, “Jamie..?” 

Upon hearing her say his name; he knew then he could no longer hold himself back. He rushed to her, clasping her face in his hands and kissing her forcefully. She was taken aback at first, but once she tasted his lips against hers, she began to melt in his grasp. 

He pushed her into the room, still kissing her as he kicked the door shut behind them. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck tightly, jumping up into his arms as he caught her. She enveloped her legs around his torso, continuing to kiss him passionately while he carried her over to the bed, plopping her down on her back. 

It was almost as if the two of them were stuck in some sort of hypnotic trance. The kissing became more rough. Their hands grabbed at one another, sometimes clawing at each other’s skin. Jamison let out a groan, baring his teeth as he buried his face against her neck. 

“I need you.” He breathed heavily, a small growl gargling in the back of his throat. “I need you, Mei-ling. I need you!” 

“I am here.” She whimpered, grabbing on to the back of his head and clenching on to a small handful of hair. “I am here, Jamie.”

He growled again, kissing up her neck and unknowingly thrusting against her waist. He kissed up her jawline, making his way to her ear, nibbling on it lightly as he ran his hand up into hers, holding it tight. She moaned, squirming underneath him. He was becoming increasingly more animal-like by the second. Something was fueling him, some deep seeded emotion that caused him to lose control. She realized; he needed to know she was there. And she was whole. 

She complied, whispering to him again between soft moans, “I am here. I am here, Jamie.”

He growled even louder, tightening his grip on her hands.  
“Thought I would lose ya. T-Thought you-” He groaned, shutting himself up by pressing his lips against hers. Slowly he let his tongue slip in. She gave in, encircling her tongue around his, taking in his savory taste; the warmth of his breath against her lips. The tips of his hair ignited, sparking at the ends. Her taste was like no other; and it was there. She was there. He moaned, pressing his body up against hers. Something, however didn’t feel right. He knew he needed to feel closer. 

As he continued to taste her, he slipped his hands underneath her top, slowly attempting to pull it over her head. She realized this, and sped up the process, grabbing her shirt by the ends and taking it off fully. She huffed, bare chest heaving with every breath. He couldn’t help but stop what he was doing, completely mesmerized by the sight of her. He didn’t realize yet again how long he had been staring. It was the first time he saw her, torso completely exposed. And she looked so beautiful. 

Her face started to turn a bright shade of pink; unrenowned to him, the silence was slowly making her more and more nervous. She wasn’t the most confident in her body or it’s shape. Her anxiety started to eat at her, thinking she may have scared him off somehow. Slowly, she began to lift her hands up to her chest to cover herself; that act was quickly brought to an end as Jamison snatched her wrists from obscuring his view. She looked up at him, and noticed how red in the face he was. His mouth agape at the sight of her. That’s when she realized, he thought she was beautiful. It made her heart skip in her chest. 

He dove down, pecking her breasts with multiple kisses until finally honing in on her right one, engulfing his lips around her nipple as he worked the left breast with the palm of his hand. She jolted in place, and soon began to shiver with pleasure. Her toes curled, and small moans left her lips, echoing off the walls. He closed his eyes, listening to her sweet sounds. He loved them; they excited him and guided him in what felt best for her. As he listened he found what speed felt best. What way he worked his hand and fingers on her soft, plump chest felt greatest to her. She squirmed in place, the shocks and shivers that radiated in her chest shot through her body, she was becoming more and more weak by each passing moment. 

Soon his hand wandered off her chest and down between her legs, slowly pushing it’s way beneath her panties and onto her soft pink flesh. She gasped, unknowingly edging herself closer to his grasp. 

He smiled against her skin, slowly working his fingers inside of her, still kissing at her breasts. This time around, she was already in an unbreakable spell. A weakness overtook the two of them and they were completely lost in one another. He could feel she felt the same just by how wet she was, that she felt the same. He giggled lightly, working his fingers even faster inside of her, kissing up her neck and eventually making his way to her lips, burying her moans deep in their kiss. He moaned back, thrusting his waist up against her lightly. She quickly noticed, and grabbed his hand that was inside her, pulling it out from her pants. Jamison stopped, breaking their kiss quickly, looking at her in a state of shock.

“Fuck. Snowflake, I-I’m sorry did I-?” he began, only to be interrupted by a finger placed gently on his lips. 

“No.” She breathed, trying to steady her voice, “I want to… Well..” She found it hard to say, but he waited very patiently, watching her lips awaiting their next command. Whether if it was to go further or stop completely, he was willing to obey.

“You focused on me last time.. I want to pleasure you too.” She breathed softly. His heart practically jumped out of his chest upon hearing that. The thought of Mei, doing something like that to him, it was amazing, beyond belief. 

She couldn’t hold back, still stuck in her lustful trance, she leapt at him, kissing him roughly as she slowly peeled his shorts off of him, revealing his throbbing member. His eyebrows knitted together as he moaned into her mouth, slightly nervous about being exposed to her, but extremely excited at the same time; and it showed. 

She guided him to the edge of the bed, where she positioned herself on the floor below, in between his legs. He watched her carefully as she gripped onto his shaft, slowly wrapping her lips around the head. He groaned with pleasure, taking a handful of her sheets in his hands. She suddenly, all at once, took him completely into her mouth, pushing her lips all the way down to the base. He didn’t realize how loud he was; in that moment he released a lengthy moan that echoed throughout the room. Mei was too lost in him to even notice, or feel worried. At this point, she really didn’t care if anyone heard. All she knew is that she wanted him.

“C-Crikey, darl. You are pretty talente-ahhh.” He moaned even more as she worked him with her mouth. Bobbing her head slowly up and down as she began to pick up speed. He sharply inhaled, clutching onto the sheets even tighter as his eyes rolled back into his head. He almost broke his own trance for a moment to ponder how she had gotten so good at this. What secrets she had been hiding. His mind went totally blank when he looked down at her, however. Her brown doey eyes looking back up at him, sparklingly innocently as she had a mouthful of his cock and her bare bosom pressed against his naked thighs. He went completely speechless. 

He began to growl, desire bubbling violently inside of him. He craved her, and he knew if he were to let her continue, as cute as she was, it would all end right here. He wasn’t ready for that. As she gave him a few last strokes with her lips, he tightly grabbed on to her forearms, pulling her up to her feet. He inched closer to the edge of the bed, kissing down her stomach as he gripped onto her shorts, pulling them off completely. She gasped, feeling the cold air brush against her bare skin. She was completely exposed to him, and him to her. They stared in awe at each other for a moment before she finally climbed onto his lap, sitting on top of him as she kissed him passionately. The kisses grew deeper as she rocked in his hold; grinding on his throbbing cock, her dripping flesh touching his. His eyes went half shut, as he dreamily pulled himself away to see her. She looked back, completely hypnotized by his carnal gaze. He tried his best to shoot her his signature smile, only falling flat with a crooked half smile. It was almost as if he were drunk on her body. She giggled lightly, kissing up his neck as she slowly lifted her body upward, hovering above him. She pressed her lips to his ear, a small moan escaping her lips, sending shivers up his spine. 

“Take me Jamie.” She demanded. 

It didn’t take long for him to abide. He reached out, tightly grabbing on to her waist and pulling her back down on him, pushing himself inside of her inch by inch. She opened her mouth to let out a moan but nothing seemed to come out, up until he was fully inside her. 

He was fully engulfed by her, flesh to flesh. Despite her skin on the surface having an icey chill to it, on the inside, she possessed an overwhelming warmth that practically burned against his skin. She let out a small gasp, enveloped in the overwhelming heat he brought her. They were truly one, as close as close could get. Time just seemed to stand still, as they finally got situated in a comfortably position, just staring at one another. 

"J-Jamie should I-?" She blushed, unsure what to do in the moment. It had been quite a while since she had been with someone like this, and she certainly wasn't use to being gawked at in such a manner.

"No." he finally spoke in a whisper, reaching out a lightly brushing her hair aside, "Lemme just look at ya for a sec...."

She blushed, allowing him to scan her form up and down, biting at his lip as he throbbed deep inside her. "Your one ace girl, darl. A real ten. Mmh..."

She blushed, leaning in close, tilting his chin up, catching him off guard as she hovered her lips above his, "You're not too bad yourself.." 

“To think I almost lost y-” 

Before he could say another word she thrusted her hips forward, instantly taking his anxieties away; it sent shocks up his body as he bit on to his lip; holding back an unflattering moan. 

“You talk too much, Jamison.” She teased, kissing him deeply as he gave in to her. Running his fingers through here hair, he let her ride him, savoring every movement she made; each making him feel better than the last. 

Before they knew it, they were at a comfortable, steady pace; hips moving in rhythm with one another as they lost themselves in one another’s bodies. All the world around them drowned out by the sound of their heavy breaths and pounding hearts. 

Mei never expected she would be with him like this; just as he never expected to be with her. She knew if she had gone back in time and told her that eventually her and Jamison would be together, and in bed, she knew her past self would have a heart attack right on the spot. But none of that was hardly on her mind in the moment. Not what her old self would think about her, nor anyone else. In fact, there wasn’t much going on in her mind at all. All she could seem to focus on was the burning heat that danced inside her, touching her and caressing her most tender spots that caused her to toss and turn in his grip. All she could seem to think about was the way Jamison growled against her skin, moaning her name softly to her as he touched her heart as well. It was clear in that moment she realized, she was falling for the criminal she once feared. He was nothing like she had imagined, and she never expected to see him in such a vulnerable state as he was now; broken down and drunk on her lust. Intoxicated by her body. She could tell past the crude and rough mannerisms, by the occasional soft kisses in gentle areas that he worshiped her. It was a kind of unique and endearing care she never received from past lovers. 

Soon she was beneath him again, after he lifted her up and lightly tossed her back onto the bed; he hovered over her, thrusting into her at increasingly fast speeds, pushing her to her limit. Her whole body started to shake under him as light sprinkles of sweat dripped of his body and on to her skin. Her body grew warmer and suddenly all of her muscles began to spaz and stiffen all at once. It was almost time. 

“Jamie-” She huffed, eyes fluttering, “I’m gunna.” 

“M-Me too!” he groaned, pushing into even harder, “Mei-”

“Jamie!” 

She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, as he wrapped his arms back around her. They both let out the loudest chorus of moans as they both fell onto the bed, enveloped in one another’s embrace. Their bodies went numb, humming with pleasure as they laid close, nuzzling against each other lovingly as they tried to catch their breath; still connected. 

Soon Jamie broke out into a little fit of raspy giggles, pulling her even closer. He wanted to be closer, even when they were as close as they could possibly get, he needed to be closer. “Mei…” He breathed. 

“Yes, Jamie?” She questioned.

“I just wanted to say your name…It’s got a nice ring to it. Mei...Mei-ling..” He smiled, “I’m glad you are here.” 

She smiled blushing a deep shade of red, “Me too.” 

He slowly pulled out of her. They both moaned, feeling one last sting of pleasure as they both pulled apart from one another. Even though it had finished, they could still feel the tingling sensation ringing in their bodies. It felt heavenly. Jamie rolled to his side, perking up a lot quicker than Mei, who was still laying on her back, taking in slow steady breaths. Soon he broke the relaxing silence.

“Say, I nevah knew I was a man of many expertises!” He giggled. 

She shot him a confused and slightly taken aback look, “Uhm. Wow! And you are so modest!” She joked back.

“What!? No! No! Not because of that!” He waved his hands frantically in defense, “What I’m meaning is...I am a expert demolitionist. Ya gotta give me that one.”

“Yes yes ok, I can see that I suppose.” She nodded in agreement, humoring him and his antics. 

“But! I’m also a expert treasure hunter!” He plopped back down next to her, “And I didn’t even know that one!” 

“Cuz of your treasure in the Outback?” She seemed genuinely confused as to where he was headed with these points, if anywhere at all. 

He shrugged, “Well yes that.. And my other treasure I found! A super duper amazing one that’s sure ta knock anyone’s boots off! Planning to keep that one real close ta me. Gotta keep it real safe and sound.”

“What is it?” 

He looked at her, face glowing softly as he reached out and lightly poked her nose, “You.” 

She just stared back at him, face growing even redder by each passing moment. To be called someone’s treasure, to mean that much to someone, to Jamison, it made her heart sing. 

He smiled softly back at her, eyes curled. “Never seen ya get that red, love. I like that shade on ya.”

She broke herself out of the trance, slowly getting more and more flustered, “W-What? I was just…” She scrambled to find the words, “So embarrassed to hear you say something so corny! Out loud!”

He broke into a fit of laughter upon hearing that, “There’s my little spitfire! What ya gunna do about it?! Put me in my place? Better hurry cuz next I might be spewin puns!” 

“You better not!”  
“Oooohh come on, snowflake! Stop the big bully before he starts punnin and flatterin ya ta death!” He reached out, fingers dancing wildly above her stomach before pouncing on her completely, tickling her wildly as she broke out into a fit of genuine laughter. 

“JAMIE STOP!” She cried between laughs, trying to reach for a pillow for defence. But he just continued to laugh along with her. 

“What’s a matter ice cube? You're CRACKIN up!” 

“OH my GOSH! JAMIE!” 

The laughter and exchanges echoed out into the halls of Gibraltar, ringing loudly for all to hear. As people passed through the halls there were a wide array of responses. Some of confusion as to what could possibly be going on behind those closed doors. Some in a faint spell of disgust because they knew deep down what had gone on, and they didn’t want to know. Some couldn’t help but laugh along with their contagious fits of laughter. 

Despite how different their reactions were to hearing Jamison and Mei tussling around together in a playful manner in private; they all came to the same conclusion. It had been so long since they heard Mei laugh like that. Long before the events of Ecopoint. And it filled them with a tremendous amount of joy to hear that laugh again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That concludes the Meihem Beach Getaway story! Thank you so much for all of your support, it really means a lot! MORE MEIHEM ON THE WAY! Stay tuned! <3

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Meihem story! I have read so many wonderful Meihem based fics on this site and it inspired me to try it myself! I hope you enjoy and I'm looking forward to possibly hearing some responses from you!


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